Round 7 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to the Press Conference of the top three qualifiers for the FIA Formula 3 Championship in Silverstone. In third place we have Sami Meguetounif from Trident, in second we have Max Esterson from Jenzer Motorsport and taking Pole Position today is Luke Browning from Hitech Pulse-Eight. Luke back-to-back poles for you and at your home race, that one must feel pretty special.

Luke Browning: Absolutely. It’s nice to be here again. I like this white couch. To do this at the home of the BRDC as a Williams supported driver in front of my home crowd, I can see the Hitech factory from the podium. It is a really surreal podium. There is a lot of work that has gone into this. I know Silverstone very well at this point and I used as much of that as I could to my advantage. Truthfully today the car was unbelievable. The lap was not anything particularly special, the wet came down and it was just a matter of how much do I trust that the grip is going to be there. I just thought, I was 13th after the first run after going off track and a disallowed lap, if it is going to come together it is going to be this lap. Really happy, two pole positions in a row now. The momentum is with us but just super grateful to be here.

FIA Formula 3: Talk to us about the pressure on the final lap, was it a case of leaving it all out there or were you holding back a little, just making sure you got a time in to put you further up the grid?

Browning: To be honest it was consolidate, it was make sure we do the lap because my engineer came on the radio saying ‘people are improving’ so I knew this was going to be the lap but also it wasn’t the time to completely take risks, it was the time to do a lap that was decent. I have to say the final sector I had a lot of confidence after doing the first two and that was really strong. The first two were for sure a little bit conservative but overall, a clean lap.

FIA Formula 3: You’re the Championship leader, is that giving you extra confidence, winning from pole last weekend and then polo this weekend. You’ve had quite the run.

Browning: I like when we have the momentum, we are in the swing of things now. This triple header has done me a lot of good. I am just enjoying the back-to-back races. The ability to go racing every weekend is something I love. I like to thrive in this atmosphere. Bring on the next two weekends as well. We have got five rounds in six weekends, we have Budapest and Spa coming up which is going to be super exiting too. To finish off the triple header in Silverstone on pole is a pretty good feeling

FIA Formula 3: Max to you, what a lap, your best Qualifying position by some distance in Formula 3. Just how good was your session?

Max Esterson: Yes, it was chaotic. The first run I knew the car was super strong, I think I was P5. It wasn’t anything special, but I crossed the line and the time was good. The car felt good, I knew we had some momentum. I was actually happy when it started raining, I was happy with fifth at the time compared to the last few rounds. I was hoping it would come down but obviously it worked out well again for us. The lap at the end was great. I had a car in front of me a bit too close that hurt a bit, but it helped on the straight. Who knows if it would have been better if I was alone. The team was great, all three of us are in the Top 10. We made a huge step and hopefully we are good in the races as well.

FIA Formula 3: You mentioned the team, you were forty-five thousands of a second off pole, does the familiarity you have with the track help at all?

Esterson: For sure it helps that I have raced here before a lot, in lots of different cars. Forty-five thousandths you could lose a bit here, lose a bit there but it is the same for all three of us here. None of us are robots. You can always say you’d be on pole if you didn’t make a mistake here or there, but it is the same for everybody

FIA Formula 3: You are starting on the front row, you got points in the first race but they have been hard to come by since, what do you think you can achieve starting this high up, is the win the target or is it just getting a solid result?

Esterson: The win is always the target, I am not going to do anything stupid to win a race, we need the points. If the opportunity is there a win would be great and hopefully, we move forward in the Sprint as well.

FIA Formula 3: Well done, Sami third for you less than a tenth from Pole Position on your first visit to Silverstone, how happy are you with this result?

Sami Meguetounif: I am very happy with this one. Personally, I am happy with myself. I have done many mistakes this year and this Qualifying was not on paper an easy one. As you said it was my first time here in Silverstone. Even if the prep has been massive before, to come here is always different in real life. Especially on an impressive track like that. This qualifying is a very important result for me. I enjoyed it but at the same time it is only the beginning of the weekend, the points are tomorrow and Sunday.

FIA Formula 3: It wasn’t a straightforward Qualifying for anyone with the rain falling, how stressful was it from your point of view?

Meguetounif: The stress was there, the pressure was there for sure because on paper to have rain in Practice was not good for me. Considering a dry qualifying, the experience in these conditions was low. The target was to do as many laps as possible, to at the end of the session do something good. When I did my first push it wasn’t super great because I was discovering everything, I think I was P19. Then the rain started to come so it was a disaster for me. In my mind I really felt like it was the end of the session. I needed to drive, and I couldn’t because of the rain. It was very stressful, when I arrived at the last lap I had exactly the same situation as these two as the engineer told me., ‘they are improving, you can do it, focus on the basics and what we talked about’. That’s what I did in a good way. Being less than a tenth from pole is good, I would have signed straight away.

FIA Formula 3: It gives you a good position for Sunday’s race, it’s been a bit of a tough run since your win in Imola to pick up points. How important is it for you to convert this starting position?

Meguetounif: Since Imola I have made many mistakes. I can also say that we didn’t have a lot of luck when we needed it. It feels good but I also really need to deliver. It will be no stupid risks but starting from third like Imola it will be all to play for, even the win. I will target a good weekend without any hesitation, just finishing my races and completing the job.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations to everyone, well done today.