Round 2 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 3: Welcome to Sakhir, where it's time for the press conference with the top three qualifiers for Round 2 of the FIA Formula 3 Qualifying session. In third place we have Charlie Wurz from TRIDENT. Second is Callum Voisin from Rodin Motorsport and on Pole Position is Rafael Câmara, also for TRIDENT. Rafa, congratulations back-to-back pole positions to kick off the season, how proud are you of that final performance? Rafeal Câmara: I think it was a good lap in the end. We went for the strategy to only use two new tyres. It was quite tricky, especially in the last lap you just need to close the lap. But I’m quite happy. In FP everything went very smoothly so it was a good way to start the weekend. In Qualifying the team did an amazing job to keep it nice and clean for me. I always had clean laps, never traffic so that was a really positive thing. Now just looking forward to the races.

FIA Formula 3: You mentioned practice going well. You were very quick in that session, was there any additional pressure on you in Qualifying to take that different approach with the tyres?

Câmara: Not really. We were expecting that, it was something already in the plan. We knew that it was going to be tight anyway. So, for me, I think everything was quite calm.

FIA Formula 3: I’m going to state the obvious with this question, but it's pretty hot here this weekend. How challenging do you think the two races are going to be?

Câmara: Yeah, it will be quite tricky, especially racing at 1pm, so it will be the toughest part of the day. It’s the same for everyone, so for the moment, I'm okay. Let's see how it will be tomorrow.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations today. Callum good job in qualifying. A place on the front row for you after a close battle with Rafa. Did you feel you had that tenth or so of a second in that lap to take pole today or was that everything?

Callum Voisin: I think it's should have, would have, could have every time in this Championship. So honestly, it was a good lap. From my side, I'm not going to sit here and say I would have been on pole, because everybody has a side to their story. But I'm happy with the P2. Obviously, a bit gutting not to be on pole after a good second run, which I think was a little bit surprising. I struggled a little bit in FP, but we kept digging, and it's nice to be rewarded.

FIA Formula 3: You mentioned struggling slightly in FP and it was a tricky first race in Melbourne. So how pleased are you to start off the competitive action this weekend on the right foot?

Voisin: Yeah, that's great. We've been working very hard in the background to solve some of the issues that we've been facing. My teammates have been pushing me very hard as well, which is great. It's more just adapting to this new car. I feel like it is quite different to drive to what last year's car was. That takes a little bit of getting used to. I think in testing, that was a little bit masked up, you kind of got away with it, in a sense, whereas when it came to Round 1 in Australia, for sure I did not get away with it. It's just been dialling out a few habits I had from last year and dialling in new ones for this car. Maybe it's a round too late, at least it's better late than never.

FIA Formula 3: Looking at the rest of the weekend, this is a track you can overtake on, so you think you'll be able to make some progress in tomorrow’s race as well as on Sunday? Voisin: For sure. I think we only use two sets of tyres, which was risky, similar to these guys. But you know, from my side, I feel like we're in a good spot for the Sprint Race, and then the Feature Race we will be in a good spot as well. So anything can happen. Sprint races are usually a bit more carnage than the Feature, let's say. So anything can happen for sure.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations on Qualifying. Charlie, thanks for waiting. The best qualifying performance of your F3 career so far, how pleased are you with your first top three start?

Charlie Wurz: It's good starting top three. I think it's important on a track like this, it’s easy to overtake as well, and we have, like the other two, one new set of tyres for Sunday's race as well, which will help. And it's obviously a good starting position, a good result to kick start the weekend.

FIA Formula 3: And you got a good start in practice as well. So, did it feel like you were able to start from a solid platform this weekend? Wurz: I knew the car was going to be good. I knew what to improve from the test, so I really just focused on preparing the race again well. We started and our first push was good. Second push was good, in Free Practice and the same in quali, both laps were strong. So, I think every lap has been good, and I know the race pace is very strong as well so looking forward to the races.

FIA Formula 3: TRIDENT have been very competitive at the start this season so far. So how confident are you that you can convert this into your race results as well?

Wurz: Yeah, I'm quite confident. I think, well, tomorrow's race is obviously about making some positions, but also learning and finding the car for Sunday. But I'm confident that I have the package, the team around me and the pace to do a good race on Sunday,