Round 6 Feature Race: Thoughts from the Top 3

FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to Spielberg where it is time to hear from our top three finishes in the FIA Formula 3 Feature Race. In third place we have Tim Tramnitz from MP motorsport, second is Martinius Stenshorne from Hitech TGR and taking the win is Nikola Tsolov of Campos Racing. Nikola, congratulations, from pole position to the checkered flag P1, a great race from you, amazing performance how is it from the car?

Nikola Tsolov: To be fair on lap 2 it felt like I had pulled a decent gap already, over 2 seconds so I decided to save my tyres as much as possible for the end of the race. To make sure in case there are safety cars or I got caught I would be able to pull away. I was just managing the pace honestly, I was getting the lap times from the car behind which was different for each part of the race and I was just managing with that. I think it was good, we had the pace already in the race that we saw yesterday and executed well today.

FIA Formula 3: Talking of yesterday’s race, ultimately after the penalties were applied it was a P3 for you and a win today plus the pole position, does it feel like this is your strongest weekend and something that you can keep with you going into the rest of the season?

Tsolov: yeah I think Monaco and here have been strong for me this year. I was P1 in every lap I did, that has been giving me confidence to do more and more every time. You are kind of surfing the wave and you never really fall from it. Yesterday I didn’t really have the target for the podium but that is just how it happened, like Barcelona. I was quite happy because in the end this is the weekend I have scored the most points so far in my F3 career. It only gets better ever weekend, we have been on the uphill since Australia.

FIA Formula 3: Looking at the drivers standings it is getting really close between you and Câmara, are you confident that you can take the lead in the Driver’s Championship next weekend in Silverstone? Tsolov: Yeah, why not, you never know in F3. Historically TRIDENT are pretty good in Silverstone but I think we have found something in Qualifying since Monaco that has been helping us be consistently up there, which is what we were lacking. As long as we do a good Qualifying I am confident we can keep up the pace. To be honest, I am more looking to myself rather than to him. I enjoyed my battle with him yesterday, it was quite fun and I wanted it to keep going further but it is going to go on throughout the season so I am happy to go again.

FIA Formula 3: Thanks Nikola. Moving on to you Martinius, P2 from P15 on the grid. What an amazing race from you today, how was it from the car?

Martinius Stenshorne: It was incredibly fun. We haven’t had this pace in the races earlier in the year so it’s nice to have this pace, especially when there’s no Safety Car to go forwards and not backwards. I’m really thankful to the team. We had good pace yesterday as well, I picked up some damage just before the last Safety Car which was not so easy at the end. Anyway, we took points in both races starting from P15 so, not bad.

FIA Formula 3: It looked like tyre degradation was quite high especially at the end. Having to slice your way through the field from P15 to P2, how did you manage the tyres?

Stenshorne: Trying to manage whenever there was a possibility when making a move while catching up to the next car, trying to save in the corners where it’s most important. But still being close for overtaking opportunities. I think we did it well and I think everyone felt it towards the end, but we were one of the quickest at the end as well. So overall I think we can be happy with our performance.

FIA Formula 3: What was the difference between a disappointing Qualifying day and today’s silverware?

Stenshorne: I struggled with some things in Qualifying on the car to be honest which today wasn’t so bad. When there’s a race, it’s a different situation and you need to save the tyres so it’s not always about having the perfect setup but a setup that takes care of the tyres as well, so i think if you get both of them right, you should be good.

FIA Formula 3: Getting those solid points going into the final rounds of the season, how much confidence does that give you going to Silverstone next week?

Stenshorne: It’s good. Of course, it brings confidence being quick in the races where we weren’t that quick before. I’m really happy that we’ve done this step forward and I’m looking forward to Silverstone where it’ll be my first time there in F3.

FIA Formula 3: Tim Tramnitz, third at the flag from 17th on the grid. What an amazing performance for you today. How did you make that happen?

Tim Tramnitz: We seem to have the race pace all the time, I just need to have my quali sorted, that’s the main focus for the next rounds, because I feel like going into the races, it’s coming by itself, we are always quick, we always manage to gain positions, it’s just the Friday we need to get sorted, didn’t really have the confidence on the brakes, here in quali, struggled a bit, so we made some changes to the brake system which helped for the races, hopefully it will help in Silverstone. But I think I will use the week now to prepare myself best for quali, and I think we will always show strong performances in the race.

FIA Formula 3: It’s a known fact that the Red Bull Ring is a track that allows for a lot of overtaking. This morning when you lined up in P17 did you think the podium was possible?

Tramntiz: Anything is possible. You set yourself the target, for me I was I would have been satisfied with a top five finish but when the podium is just there, you try to get that little extra out of it. The tyre management was also quite nice. What’s also important and quite difficult on this track is the DRS management in general. So coming from the race yesterday where it was possible to get some learnings from the race, I think we executed quite well today, and were quite clever in terms of using the DRS. I said to myself why shouldn’t it be possible, and just went for it.

FIA Formula 3: It might be a little bit frustrating because qualifying has not been your strongest point this season. Going into Silverstone next week, are you confident you can fix some things for quali?

Tramnitz: For sure. I think there are already a few things that worked out quite well even though we couldn't show it on Friday, but there are good steps in the right direction. It’s just missing it a little bit in the final run, where there is the opportunity to get this little extra, I have so far struggled a little bit to get it out of the car, but for sure it’s possible. Silverstone is not one of the tracks I know best, but it’s a track I enjoy driving, so that’s a good point as well.

FIA Formula 3: Well done Tim, congratulations everyone.