Round 11 Post-Feature Race Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Welcome, everyone, to today’s FIA Formula 2 Press Conference following the Feature Race here in Madrid. Joining us is Ritomo Miyata of Hitech in third, Alexander Dunne of Rodin Motorsport in second, and Dino Beganovic of DAMS Lucas Oil, who has claimed his first Feature Race victory in Formula 2. Congratulations, Dino. A dominant victory and your first Feature Race win. How does that feel?

Dino Beganovic: It obviously feels very good. It has been a while and I feel like we have been waiting for this one for a long time. It feels very good to get it here after a very good Friday.

FIA Formula 2: You looked completely dialled in. Tell us about the car the team gave you this weekend.

Beganovic: Honestly, the team did a good job all week. We came from the simulator having tested some things and went in a direction they had not been used to before, but it obviously worked this weekend. Hopefully, we can carry it on to Baku. From Free Practice, I felt very good and confident in the car, and that is all you need at this track.

FIA Formula 2: You started on the soft tyre. How did it hold up during your first stint?

Beganovic: Honestly, the soft tyre was very good today and yesterday. It was very fast and the grip was solid. At the start of the race, we were quite slow and tried to remain flexible with what we could do. Once the first few drivers pitted, we knew what to do. We picked up our pace and were able to match them and then go quicker, which was a good sign. Everything went to plan and the Safety Car was a bonus for us.

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations on the victory. Alex, congratulations on P2. Can you take us through your race?

Alexander Dunne: I think it was a good one and I am very happy. The Soft tyre had quite a lot of performance, more than I expected, even with how strong it looked in the Sprint Race yesterday. Most of the drivers who used it yesterday gained places and maintained them, whereas I expected the tyre to degrade a little more towards the end. The performance of the soft tyre, our first tyre today, helped Dino and me finish where we did. We were able to extend the first stint for a long time and wait for a Safety Car. Even without one, if you had asked me to do another 10 laps at the same level of performance, I think I could have done it. I was impressed by how good the soft tyres felt. They degraded to a certain point and then did not get any worse. The lap times stayed consistent. That was the key to having a good race today.

FIA Formula 2: Were you able to use the Hard tyre and push a little more towards the end of the race?

Dunne: Definitely a little. For whatever reason, it was much more physical on the hard tyre. Physicality and steering weight were things we discussed coming into the weekend, and particularly today because the race was 10 laps longer than yesterday. On the soft tyre, it was not too difficult, but on the hard tyre it was really tough. The steering weight through Turn 12 and all the high-speed corners was very demanding. At the end, I had to back off because, if I had pushed slightly over the limit, I do not think I would have been able to catch the car because the steering was so heavy. We need to understand why it felt so different between the soft and hard tyres. The pace was still very strong and we managed to set the fastest lap as well, which was good.

FIA Formula 2: Describe the physicality of the race. Through La Monumental, it looked as though you were pulling some very high G-forces.

Dunne: It was crazy. I saw a video the other day saying that the corner is more than 500 metres long. We go through there at over 200 kilometres per hour and there is a lot of banking, which naturally puts much more load through the car. It is also where we have the most downforce, so the steering becomes really heavy. It was pretty tough. At the end, I had to back off a little through Turn 12 because it was too difficult and not worth risking an incident. Up to that point, I think we got the most out of it.

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations on P2, Alex. Ritomo, congratulations. Hitech appeared to give you a very good car this weekend. How did it feel?

Ritomo Miyata: It is amazing to be back on the podium. We finished P3 after starting P9. The strategy was good and the Safety Car helped us gain positions, but we also had good pace. That is why we are here.

FIA Formula 2: How physically challenging was it for you today?

Miyata: Turn 12 and the banking were definitely very tough. The steering feedback was heavy. I came from Super Formula, where they have power steering, so Formula 2 has much heavier steering and is physically demanding. Today was very different compared with yesterday. The prime stint was very tough physically.

FIA Formula 2: How was the tyre degradation over the race distance?

Miyata: The tyre degradation was quite flat and not too high, but Turn 12 became much more physically demanding. It was difficult to drive on the limit because, if you pushed too much, the car could slide and feel unpredictable, and it was difficult to add steering input because it was so heavy. I tried to stay just under the limit there and then push in Sectors 1 and 3.