Dunne: ‘Confidence to push close to the walls’ the crucial factor in Baku fight for pole

Alexander Dunne started his Baku weekend on the front foot, setting a 1:55.720 to lead the pack in Free Practice.

The Rodin Motorsport driver got his first taste of the Baku City Circuit and took his time learning the track from the car before delivering the session-topping time late on in Practice.

Speaking after returning to the paddock, the Irishman was happy with how things had gone both pace-wise and how he and the team built up in the session.

“It was pretty good. I think I built into it on the slower side, which is what I wanted to do. It’s a pretty daunting track especially having never driven here before.

“I just tried to build into it progressively, and then when it was the last lap and time to put it together a little bit more, I did so. I think it was a good session.

“The track conditions were actually pretty good. I asked in the Drivers’ Briefing yesterday if the track was going to be cleaned and they said yes, and I think it definitely helped.

“I think we were nearly two seconds quicker than what they did in Free Practice last year. From the first push, the track looked relatively clean, so I think they did a good job on that side.”

Speaking more in-depth about the unique challenges of the Baku street circuit, Dunne says that the combination of high-speed sections along with the tight and twisty middle sector combines to create a tough challenge.

But, after just one session in the car, he’s already a fan, saying that the balancing act is a fulfilling one to manage from the cockpit.

“It’s pretty cool. I really, really enjoyed it. It’s very high speed but at the same time, it’s very technical. You really have to make sure you hit your marks, you’re smooth and you don’t over push.

“But at the same time, you really get that high-speed feeling being so close to the walls, so it’s really cool and I really enjoyed it.”

Looking ahead to Qualifying, Dunne will be targeting his first pole position since Spa-Francorchamps prior to the summer break.

READ MORE: PRACTICE: Dunne leads Crawford in closely contested opening session around Baku

The Rodin driver says that continuing to build confidence in the early part of the Qualifying session will be important, as will the decision on downforce levels.

Some drivers opted for the trimmed down low downforce specification wings during Practice, and it’s a decision that Dunne says he and the team will be weighing up prior to the grid-setting session.

“I think general confidence will be worth a lot. It’s a decision between medium downforce and low downforce, so we’ll need to wait and see what others do.

“I don’t feel like it’s a more one area or the other, I think even the castle section felt more open than what I thought it would be on the track walk. It didn’t feel as tight in the car as what I expected it to be, so I think it’s just about having confidence in the car.

“I’ll probably look back over the session to see if I can learn anything from the other drivers and then I’ll debrief with the team as well to see if we can make any steps forward with the car.”