Post Qualifying Press Conference Round 3

FIA Formula 2: Welcome to the Press Conference with the Top 3 qualifiers in FIA Formula 2 ahead of the Feature Race here in Melbourne. In third place we have Richard Verschoor for Trident, second is Andrea Kimi Antonelli for PREMA Racing and in pole position Dennis Hauger from MP Motorsport. Dennis, your maiden pole position and what a lap to do it, talk us through that session because it wasn’t easy out there.

Dennis Hauger: Overall, really happy to get a pole. It has been too long, it’s a nice feeling to have back. The session was really messy, a lot of Red and Yellow Flags. So, I really had to try to make the most of every lap. In the end, on that last run getting everything up to temperature, you only have the out lap and then the push. I am really happy to have made the most out of it and end up on top. It’s a nice feeling and a confidence boost. I think we are doing everything right at the moment and the team are working hard to make steps forward throughout the year. It’s nice to see the hard work paying off.

FIA Formula 2: Your final sector was very quick, just how did you find that time when the pressure was at its highest?

Hauger: I think we managed to get everything up to temperature well with the small time that we had. That one lap, I managed to just get everything out of it and fine tune things. We had the outlap and one push so that made a difference in terms of how we were set up to maximise it. It was really cool to see that we were able to maximise it. It was a good lap and I am happy to have put it together.

FIA Formula 2: You won last year in the Sprint Race and you have been looking in great form this weekend, just how confident are you going into tomorrow and Sunday?

Hauger: Overall I think from Jeddah the race pace was looking strong. I think we will carry that into this weekend. Hopefully we can continue what we are on. Tomorrow starting P10 I just have to try and get a few positions, get a few points. It’s not the easiest to pass around here. Everything is happening all at once around here. I think we have some opportunities and for the Feature Race anything can happen. We just have to try and keep it clean and have a good start. We have the pace so we just have to try and keep it clean and continue what we are doing.

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations. Kimi coming to you, a great lap but just pipped to pole in the end by Dennis. You’re the highest placed rookie on the grid, just how pleased are you with that performance today?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli: I am really happy. As Dennis said it was a hectic session because of all the Red and Yellow flags. It was really messy, really hard to get the lap right. Overall, I am really happy with the session. Still trying to find the limit during the Qualifying lap, still doing some work as I have some room for improvement of course. I am happy to bring home the last lap and to be on the front row.

FIA Formula 2: You look comfortable around this track in Free Practice this morning, how confident were you going into Qualifying? Did you feel like a front row start was in the cards?

Antonelli: After Practice I felt quite confident because I was able to get up to speed very quickly. I knew it would be hard because Dennis was already really fast from Free Practice. I just tried to do my best. With the team, we tried to put the best car on track, and I think we did a really good job. I am really pleased with what we are doing and the way we are improving the car. I feel that I was confident and even during the session I was trying to build the confidence lap by lap. I think it was quite good.

FIA Formula 2: You seem to have gone quicker and quicker since Bahrain and Round 1. How have you found adapting to F2 so far and what are you hopes for tomorrow’s Sprint Race?

Antonelli: Every round I am trying to make the most out of it. I am still in the learning process, but I am happy because every session I am able to learn something new to improve eventually. I am happy with the work I am doing with the team. For tomorrow I think the pace is quite strong and obviously it isn’t super easy to overtake here at this track. We will see tomorrow what we can do.

FIA Formula 2: Well done Kimi. Richard, you left it late, but it was a great lap in the end and enough for a spot in the Top 3. How tough was that session with all the Red flags?

Richard Verschoor: It was a tough session, it was a messy session, I didn’t feel good at all on the first set so that is why we left it late. I was already improving a lot just before the Red Flag on the second set, so it was a shame not to get a lap in. There was quite a lot of pressure on me to perform in the last lap, but I am happy with the chances we made during the session. In the end I felt there was still a little bit more on the table, but I am happy to be in the Top 3.

FIA Formula 2: You achieved P1 in the Sprint Race in Jeddah, but that was taken away after the race, how important was the results today to bounce back from that disappointment?

Verschoor: It was quite important for all of our confidence., To be fair with the win in Jeddah we were happy because we had a very tough weekend in Bahrain, so I was happy to have turned it around for Jeddah. Of course, we got a big hit and got disqualified. So, to come back here like this, of course there are no points yet, but I am feeling good, feeling strong. In Bahrain we were really off, so we as a team want to keep building on this.

FIA Formula 2: Let’s see how that goes, we wish you luck. Thank you very much.