Tim Tramnitz on his Sakhir fightback and points to prove in Imola

MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz put in a very impressive drive to go from P13 to the podium on Sunday in Sakhir, bouncing back from a tough Qualifying that left him with it all to do.

The Red Bull Junior Team obliged and then some, displaying his qualities wheel-to-wheel and in race performance, getting the best out of his Pirelli tyres to rise up to P3 and an unlikely podium finish.

He recounts his weekend in Bahrain and what he learned, the points to improve and why he’s feeling confident going into Round 3 and Imola next month.

“With Qualifying – I was not very happy, especially with missing out on the top 12, which is very important for your weekend, and it can change a lot of things.

“It was my mistake, I made a mistake on my last lap, which was my fastest lap, and it cost me quite a lot of time. The team did a good job, the car was already fast in Qualifying, and I’ll have to get my head around it and see how I can improve that for next time.

“My mistake was T11 and T12 - T11, braking a bit too late, losing a lot of time on the exit. I think it was around three tenths, so that's quite a bad one. And a little bit of time in T12, which meant I just missed out on the reverse grid positions. So fully to blame there.

“I have to work on this point, because it really has a big effect on your whole race weekend. Now, I managed to turn it around as well as we could. But if we want to have the chance to be on the top step, we need, or I need to do a better job in Qualifying.

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“I also knew the weekend was not going to be easy with P13 in Qualifying, but still, from testing and the data we collected, it looked like that we were strong in terms of racecraft and race pace.

“So I think it was pretty much about not giving up, and I woke up on Saturday and said, ‘let’s refresh and go into it with a clear mind and just focus on what I can do’.

“Coming away with sixth in the Sprint was already a positive result, some good points there. So I set myself the target for the next day to get into the top five. Also, we had a new set of tyres for the Feature Race, which helped a little bit, of course, especially at the beginning.

“I'm very happy with the Sunday I've had. The team did an amazing job. The car was good in both races. It was the same as last year in the Feature Race in Bahrain, a little bit more difficult than last year though.

“I think we’ll take away a lot of confidence just from this race. I know what I have to improve for quali, what I have to work on for the upcoming races in Europe. With a better qualifying, I think we really have the chance to also win the Feature Race.

“This weekend gives us confidence. We were in a bit of a different position with being a rookie. Everything was new, you didn’t know what to expect, which is different this year.

“I know what’s coming up, I know the challenges, so the experience will be helpful, that’s for sure. It’s the same with the team. The good thing is, I’m here with them for a second year, I know what the team needs from me and the team knows what I need from the car.

“I think that is pretty much what’s happened in the races this weekend. Now we just have to carry it over for Qualifying in the next rounds."