Round 3 Post-Feature Race Thoughts from the Top 3

Thoughts from the top three of the Imola Feature Race

FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to the Press Conference of the top three finishes for the FIA Formula 3 Championship Sprint Race here in Imola. In third place we have Leonardo Fornaroli from Trident, in second we have yesterday’s winner Oliver Goethe from Campos Racing and completing the podium for his first win in Formula 3, Sami Meguetounif. Sami, FIA Formula 3 race winner, how does that sound?

Sami Meguetounif: It sounds crazy. One year ago, I couldn’t have dreamed of it. I will take a bit of time on the way home I think to realise it. Right now, I am just on a cloud. I will enjoy the moment with the team. I love the smell of champagne on my suit

FIA Formula 3: The start was somewhat difficult and then you had to pace your way through the laps, how was it in the car?

Meguetounif: I think all three Trident cars had a similar start so approaching T2 there was not much to do. I never think about taking any risk especially with my teammates in front. We managed to go out of the start 1-2-3 just as we lined up. After that I really tried to just look after my tyres, I knew the race was going to be a tyre management race. We didn’t have a Safety Car so even more so. I spent six, seven laps looking in my mirrors because Ollie was catching me a lot. Even when he passed me, I knew that I could not catch him at that stage. I just tried to keep focusing on myself and keep Lindblad out of DRS, out of danger. I managed to do that. Mid-race I found better pace, also my engineer told me that I was starting to be a bit faster than the people in front. Then Leo had his issue, so I managed to pass. From then, I was able to increase the pace and take a few more risks. I stopped looking behind, my pace was better. I started to catch more and more, I passed Santiago and I saw that I could catch Ollie – he was struggling a little with the tyres at the end. I gave it everything and managed to pass. Only clean battles today.

FIA Formula 3: What went through your mind on those final laps?

Meguetounif: Many things, too many things. I was trying to stay focused on what I was doing. I had some negative thoughts when I was driving, I was scared of a mistake. Because of the gap I had I was able to make a 2% margin in the risky corners. I had a great help from my engineer and my team manager to help manage the last stressful laps.

FIA Formula 3: You had to rebound from a disappointing DNF yesterday in the Sprint, what did you do to rest your mind.
Meguetounif: I was really disappointed yesterday. The start of my race was good, I made really good overtaking decisions and I think the pace was as strong as it was today. Unfortunately, I was at the wrong place at the wrong moment when I had the contact with Dino Beganovic. It was a little bit my fault. After the start I took too much of a risk to stay too close to him. I was really disappointed yesterday night after talking about it. We decided to focus on tomorrow. I prepared really well for the race. I slept well. Arriving this morning I was only focused on today. The only way to make up for the mistake was to do a good race today.

FIA Formula 3: Next week we are in Monaco, what’s the plan for that round?

Meguetounif: The plan is to do great, we know that is it a difficult circuit, as a rookie for me it will be tough. Especially the start of the weekend. I think it is important to do all the laps in practice and get as much information as we can. From there we will see, I only look forward to good results.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations, to you Oliver. P2 from P7 on the grid today, after a win yesterday. It’s a good result, it’s a podium, how are you feeling right now?

Oliver Goethe: I am feeling amazing, this weekend in general has been fantastic. I was P1 in Practice, Qualifying was the best, we didn’t maximise it fully but in the end, I was in a good position for both races. The race pace was really strong, so I managed to gain a lot of positions, keep out of trouble and get a lot of points which is important.

FIA Formula 3: We saw you did a lot of moves to make your way through the pack, you passed Leo who may have an issue, from then on what was the strategy because you knew you had to save your tyres too?

Goethe: Yeah I passed a lot of people in the first lap, the pace at the start was mega. I was pushing maybe a little bit more than others which is why I might have struggled at the end. Once I was in first, I tried to manage my tyres as best I could, Sami did an amazing race and kept them for longer. He managed to pass me unfortunately but at the end I had to push at lot at the start because I was starting further back. I am still very happy.

FIA Formula 3: Yesterday you were given back the Sprint Race win after the five-second penalty was rescinded. How satisfied are you to gain your first win in the third round of the season?

Goethe: Super happy. Obviously the penalty was not correct, and we saw that after the race. I did what was right and I won on track, so I am very happy with the P1 and the P2 in the Feature.

FIA Formula 3: Next week we are in Monaco, is this a venue you like?

Goethe: Everyone like’s Monaco, it is a special track. Last year didn’t go great for me there. I am hoping this year it will be better. The team did well in Macau, the pace was really strong. I know it is not exactly the same thing, but I have confidence at the street tracks. I think this year I will do better.

FIA Formula 3: Well done, Leonardo P3 in today’s Feature Race. You were P2 on the grid and leading at a point, this is not the result you were after today.

Leonardo Fornaroli: Yeah, I am very disappointed but it’s a podium. This was a very good race today, I was P1 when Ollie passed me. But I don’t know what happened, I went a little bit further right on the straight and the car switched off. Then I lost a lot of time. I remained focused, I tried to recover as much as possible. It was a close P2 from P5, but it was not enough and we finished P3. Very disappointed thought I was hoping for P1, and the pace was there to win the race. It’s racing, these things can happen, we move on. It is still good points for the Championship so now we look to Monaco.

FIA Formula 3: There are a lot of positives from this weekend, it’s a win for Trident after a 1-2-3 in Qualifying. It’s another podium for you, you are leading the standings currently. Are these the positives you will take with you?

Fornaroli: Yeah of course. We showed again the strong pace we have in Qualifying. The Sprint was a bit unfortunate, and I scored no points. I was hoping for more today but it’s okay. I am satisfied with my pace this weekend. Always hoping for more and I can’t wait to show my pace again in Monaco and the next rounds.

FIA Formula 3: Well Monaco is going to be very interesting, thanks to all three of you.