Dino Beganovic: 'A great result and deserved reward' following another Baku podium

It was two podiums from two on Friday in Baku for Dino Beganovic. After claiming victory in the Sprint Race, he returned to the podium in Feature Race 1, finishing third behind the two Rodin Motorsport teammates.

Reflecting on his day in the paddock, the DAMS Lucas Oil driver was very enthusiastic about his and the team's performance levels on Friday in Azerbaijan.

"Very satisfied, it was a great day. Super happy with it. It was a tough day as well. Starting from this morning I was not feeling well. A lot of visits to the bathroom, but it all paid off. A very good day. Super happy for myself, for my team and a very good haul of points."

Beganovic started Feature Race 1 from eighth on the grid but made quick progress through the pack in the early stages.

The Safety Car timing was fortuitous as he admits, but a strong result was on the cards regardless as he and the team continued to show impressive speed in Baku.

He highlighted the race restarts as a particular strength and an element that made a big difference in the end result.

"Racing here - it's not over if you qualify outside the top places. You can still do a good job. There's always going to be a little bit of carnage. You've just got to be clever making the moves and taking it step by step.

"The Safety Car was great timing for us. I've been lucky on that and it definitely made our race a lot easier. After that, I think we made some good moves on the restarts. Every time into Turn 1 we were ready to gain a place.

"I think we were really strong in all the restarts. Then the Rodin boys were very quick today. It was hard to follow Martinus when he got past. I'm happy to have kept León behind after our contact. I also got some damage on my rear. Overall, I'm very satisfied."

Beganovic had a slightly tougher task on his hands tomorrow, with his Qualifying 2 result leaving him outside the top 10 for Saturday's Feature.

Still, the Ferrari Driver Academy talent is hopeful of another charge through the order, but underlines the need to stay out of trouble and make the most of opportunities as they arrive, rather than force the issue.

"Obviously, it's not going to be as easy tomorrow. It's going to be quite tough starting from 12th place.

"We've just got to do what we can do, Not invent anything and just do our race. I think we have the pace to move forward. But starting from 12th, everything becomes a lot more difficult."