Delétraz: “I enjoy the rain when it’s like this”

Rain is like Marmite in motorsport, you either love it, or you hate it. Louis Delétraz falls into the former, expressing his enjoyment of an enthralling Qualifying session, in which he finished a pleasing P5.

The Carlin driver was one of the coolest drivers on a wet and windy afternoon in Hungary and admitted that he wouldn’t mind a trickle in tomorrow’s Feature Race, which he hopes will “start wet, [and] end dry.”

“It was really nice, I enjoy the rain when it’s like this and there is no aquaplaning,” he began. “You don’t know which set-up to go for because it’s the first session of the year in the wet. I enjoyed driving it - outside lines, inside curbs and trying to find more and more grip, it was cool.

“It was pretty wet, but there was no aquaplaning and the water was going away pretty nicely, I would say. That is always good as a driver - if you are sliding it is fine, but aquaplaning is not nice. I really enjoyed it.”

The Swiss driver has experienced a positive few rounds of racing, with a spot on the podium in Silverstone, claiming second place ahead of Nyck de Vries. However, it was the Dutchman who came out on top today and Delétraz admitted that he was impressed by the Championship leader’s ability over a lap.

He continued: “I felt quick today, I felt good grip and I was very confident on the braking which is important in the rain. We were good, just not good enough. Nyck [de Vries] did an amazing lap.”

Whether Saturday is wet or dry, the rain on Friday has already added a mystery to the Feature Race, said Delétraz. “No one really knows who did what in terms of race run and stuff, so it will be interesting tomorrow in that sense, because the rain always mixes it up.

“You can feel the tyre deg even in the rain, I did just one lap and then it dropped, so I maybe didn’t optimise 100% of it, but I am in a good place to start from.”

Despite facing the unknown, the Carlin driver is confident of further podium success in the Feature race, but asserted his belief that it will require a strong start, on the tight and twisty challenge that is the Hungaroring.

The 22-year-old is as well-equipped as anyone to face the challenge, having put in the joint-most laps, alongside teammate Nobuharu Matsushita, who starts eighth.

“I am quite happy with it,” he continued. “It is not pole position, which is what we always aim for, but it is a good position to start in [the race].

“I am [confident]. We have made some good starts in the past and we have worked on that, so hopefully straight away I can be in the match for the podium. But obviously, first we have to see what the conditions are.”

If Delétraz gets the race he is hoping for, then there will be plenty up for grabs.