Taponen says ART are not ‘far’ from challenging for wins after ‘better’ Sakhir weekend

Tuukka Taponen was in positive spirits as he left the Sakhir paddock following a maiden Formula 3 podium in the Sprint Race and a run to fourth place in the Feature.

It followed an opening weekend in Melbourne in which he finished outside the points in both races – P14 in the Sprint and P20 in the Feature – and ART Grand Prix left point-less.

However, after ending up third in the Sprint, Taponen says there is plenty for him and his team to be pleased about given that they showed what they were capable of doing.

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“For sure it was a better weekend than Melbourne, there is no doubt on that,” said Taponen. “It's always nice to be on the podium. It's something that I am super happy about because I think I maximised quite well what I had, finishing P3 yesterday and today P4.

“We still need to improve a bit to be able to fight for the wins and pole positions, but we are definitely a lot closer than in Melbourne. The test already showed what we are capable of when we are putting it all together.”

Taponen had looked set for another third-place result in the Feature but lost out to MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz three laps before the end.

The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy prospect acknowledged that he and ART struggled more than expected on Sunday given their good performance in the Sprint.

“Today we had a little bit more confidence with the new set of tyres,” said Taponen. “We were expecting to be super quick, but this wasn't the case, and we struggled a bit, which was a surprise but it’s not bad.

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“I didn't change my driving so much, I felt quite good at the beginning of the Sprint and without the Safety Car I think I could have fought for the win.

“The Safety Car killed my momentum, having a small pace advantage at the end, but today it was the opposite, I was actually hoping the Safety Car would come but there was none this time.

“The tyres were finished already on Lap 8 or 9. So, I was struggling and trying not to make mistakes and extract the most I had.”

Attentions turn to the European leg of the season, with Imola next up on the calendar. Previewing the upcoming rounds, the 18-year-old says both he and ART have areas they need to improve.

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“We definitely need a little bit more pace,” said Taponen. “A little bit from me as well as from the team. We just need to work on that.

“We are not far and if we score decent points every weekend, we will end up quite high in the Championship. No need to have a big rush on that, and from my side to extract the most I have, that's the most important.”