Sette Câmara: “I had to deliver”

Sometimes in life, good things come when you least expect them, and Sérgio Sette Câmara can certainly testify to that. The Brazilian earned his second front row start of the 2019 campaign in Spa-Francorchamps - with P2 in Qualifying - despite admitting that the car didn’t initially seem “particularly competitive.”

The DAMS’ driver’s last front row start in Formula 2 came in Le Castellet and it sparked an in-form period for the 21-year-old. However, he wasn’t able then to turn pole position into a victory, instead, finishing second.

On this occasion, he will be hoping to turn second, into first. “It's always important to score the most amount of points that you can because you never know [what could happen],” he began. “There could be a weekend where you have a problem or someone crashes into you, or you even make a mistake, and then you don't have the points.”

It’s a regular phrase within the F2 camp – maximisation of points. It’s often the most consistent driver that wins the Championship, not the man with the most wins. It’s a quality that Formula 1 teams will ultimately look for, when they scour the Road to F1 for the next ace in the deck - the next gem off the production line.

“You have to average it out. I think more like that,” he continued. “I try to score the most points that I can and that's how I try to think. This round marks the start of the last third of the championship I guess, so we've got to start looking at points now and championship positions. Jack [Aitken] and [Luca] Ghiotto are particularly close in fourth and fifth, [so] it's a bit of looking behind. Trying to score as many points as I can is where my focus is at.”

The Brazilian put on a late show in Qualifying to snatch P2 from the clutches of Nobuharu Matsushita, crossing the line just seconds before a red flag ended the session. While the time that he crossed the line may have been fortunate, his performance proves that his Qualifying position was no fluke.

The 21-year-old finished behind Nyck de Vries and admits the car didn’t feel completely competitive going into the session, making the result, and his display, all the more satisfying.

“I'm quite pleased,” he assessed. “Spa is a track that I've had good experiences at and good results throughout my years here, but this weekend I didn't seem particularly competitive. I was not so happy with the car balance and, like always in F2, it's difficult to change things in the short sessions that we have. I think we did a good job in the first set.

“[Nyck] seems to have a really good pace but I didn't so it meant that I had all the pressure with the last set of tyres. I had to deliver. It's just one push around here so it was not easy, but we took the right choices with the car set-up. The team did an amazing job so I'm happy.”