Interviews by Sergio Álvarez.
FRIDAY
Q to Jack Doohan, pole, 1:40.542: “Wow, what a lap! What did you learn from last year’s races in F2 that helped you to achieve this pole?”
A: “I think just the jump between the two compounds from FP to qualy is quite a lot. You know, where to find the (lap) time. Here it was a little bit more difficult to be honest, I’d say, than Abu Dhabi because I hadn’t ran the trim level I ran in qualy in testing at all over the three days (as opposed to FP). So to go from that sort of running to doing a pole lap at a 40.5 from a 45.5 that you did in practice it’s quite a jump. I’m still learning too and I’m happy to do the pole. I did obviously learn stuff in the last two rounds but also they were quite different circuits in abrasiveness compared to Bahrain. I’m just taking it session by session.”
“I don’t really think about it: I’m just always full send!”
Jüri Vips, HITECH GRAND PRIX
Q to all three drivers (Doohan, pole, 1:40.542; Pourchaire, P2, 1:40.683; Vips, P3, 1:40.755): “When you approach a corner like Turn 4, do you have at the back of your mind the risk of going over the track limits if you push too hard and getting a penalty?”
Pourchaire: “Yeah, sure! We try to push the limit every time, even more in qualy. You need to do the pole, you need to push the limit so um, that’s the rule (track limits). We all know that before each race weekend we have a drivers’ briefing and we know that the white line is part of the track and you need to respect that, to have the wheel on the white line, especially the white line. I think we all know that.”
Doohan: “It’s the rules, isn’t it? You know, the white line is stated. Stay within one wheel.”
Vips: “I don’t really think about it: I’m just always full send!”
SATURDAY
Q to Jehan Daruvala (P2, Sprint Race): “With regards to the final lap of the VSC, can you tell us what happened? Maybe the team didn’t inform you accurately?”
A: “Um, no. They informed me pretty well. Just from the driver’s point of view, we obviously have a delta to respect for the VSC and yeah, it said it was ending and I started to pick up the pace on the straight but I could see that my delta was coming down quite quickly and it still didn’t go green. I hit the brakes and the moment I hit the brakes the race went green so… The worst timing ever pretty much and Boschung had a big run on me, I lost a lot of time there. A bit to learn from and you know hopefully in the future it doesn’t happen.”
Q to Jehan Daruvala (P2, Sprint Race): “How did your car feel after lock-up at Turn 8? Did it make things worse?”
A: “Yeah, it definitely felt a bit worse, especially on the two laps after but I think generally in F2 cars anyways, with small lock-ups – everyone suffers with locking and vibrations throughout the race so. The lap after I really couldn’t see anything going down the straight when I was behind Ralph (Boschung) but then it kind of settled down after two or three laps. I don’t think it was causing me disadvantage of anything like that. It’s definitely something to avoid for tomorrow because it could’ve ended up a lot worse.”
SUNDAY
Q to Liam Lawson (P2, Feature Race): “Do you reckon Doohan was clean in his fight with you at the race start?”
A: “I think it was quite aggressive, the move through Turn One. Yeah, but it’s Turn One and to be honest I think none of us expected it to be so slippery on the primes (tyres) in the first lap. For me, after I went off it was trying to clean up the tyres and recover the grip back again. I think if I’d stayed behind I could’ve stayed in third or something like that so it would’ve been a better position. Obviously it’s all hindsight.”
Q to all three drivers (Pourchaire, winner; Lawson, P2; Vips, P3): “We’ve seen quite a few pit lane incidents and pit stops gone horribly wrong today, but what would be the worst pit stop of your whole racing career? Can you think of something in the past?”
“It’s a joke.”
Jüri Vips, HITECH GRAND PRIX
Pourchaire: “We’ve always had good pit stops with ART (team) so it’s too difficult to say because before in Formula 3 or Formula 4 you’re just driving for twenty laps in a row. On that point ART is doing a great job, I never had a bad pit stop.”
Lawson: “For me, maybe Monaco last year. I think we had quite a slow stop, I lost a lot of ground. We actually finished okay in the points but it had the potential to be a lot higher so. Um, otherwise not too much memory. I think it’s safe to say that, Jüri, it’s your worst pit stop of your career but…”
Vips: “I’m better on the marks normally than you!”
Lawson: “Yes, it’s true actually!”
Vips: “It’s a joke. This one (today) was the longest I’ve ever had.”
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