Things are looking good: Mari Boya’s Silverstone Weekend Debrief

Mari Boya’s trip to Silverstone turned out to be a very successful one, as he took home two trophies, one for a P3 in the Sprint Race and another for a victory in Sunday’s Feature.

The Campos Racing driver reflects on a special few days on British soil, and previews the upcoming rounds, with the Spaniard now firmly in the title hunt.

DOING WHAT HE COULD ON FRIDAY

“The weekend started really well. From the first push we saw great speed. We had something that the team wanted to try with me especially, and because of that, at the end of Practice I was not at the top because my second run, where everyone improved, we tried something on the setup to see if it possible to go in that direction.

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“It was not possible, but at least we got information, and we could learn a lot. In Qualifying, I went back to what we would say is the normal base with the team that worked very well. But I had to adapt, because the difference was quite huge, and we went for three sets of one push.

“Silverstone is a track where you need to have confidence in the car, and belief in the grip you will have, and it took me till the last push to get that, which I didn't maximise a lot.

“I have been trying to change my approach in Qualifying, a 90% lap and not more, because it can be really explosive and sometimes it is easy for me to go over the limit and I wanted to secure a top five finish, and indeed that's what we did.

“I was happy with the lap. I knew I had some tenths in the pocket, but I didn't feel the confidence to push it that much, but happy with the position.”

A CHARGE TO THE PODIUM

“With the Hard compound, I didn't expect the races to have deg or to be superior to my rivals, but indeed, we were really fast in the Sprint Race.

Wharton: Silverstone charge proof of driving gains in recent weeks

“Starting ninth and finishing third, one of the best races of the year, without any doubt for me, because everything went pretty well. The start, how we managed the race, overtaking, the car felt really nice, and I enjoyed that race a lot.

“Going into Sunday, starting fourth, I knew after Saturday that in the dry we will have a really good chance to take the win. I saw that overtaking was possible, and the pace was incredible, so I thought today was going to be a good day.”

“We knew about the weather, that it was going to rain, but when I woke up and the sky was blue, and I thought it is going to be dry and we have a good chance.”

TRUSTING HIS GUT

“10 or 15 minutes before the race it started to rain. It was quite a tense moment for everyone, so I spoke a lot with my engineer, asking what the plan is. We went to the grid with slick tyres, to put some temperature in them, and to build up energy.

“At least if it was on slicks, we wanted to be ready, and when we went on the grid, five minutes to go, it started to rain slightly. I said to my engineer, the last sector was still wet and for me it was easy to go with Wet tyres, and he trusted in me.

Wharton: Silverstone charge proof of driving gains in recent weeks

“We made the right choice in that moment. It's important to believe in yourself, believe in your feelings, in your experience and what you have seen on the track. It was really nice because everyone around me was on slicks.

“I didn't know who was on Wets, but I didn't care that much because my feeling was saying to me that it was for Wets. So he trusted me, we went and it was the right choice.”

A RETURN TO THE TOP STEP

“It was a really nice moment winning the race. This season we had so many downs at the beginning of the season, nearly all of them were outside of our control, but the pace has always been really strong.

“It's already my fourth podium of the season, I am feeling really confident and its really special win, and to do it at Silverstone, after signing with Aston Martin, it's really special. So, I feel like I am in a good moment and I am enjoying it a lot.”

THE FINAL THREE ROUNDS AND TITLE HOPES

“To be honest, it's something I don't like looking at that much. To be honest with you after the Red Bull Ring I was surprised how big a step we took in the Championship.

“I didn't expect to be in sixth position after everything that happened to me. So I said it's looking good, I am feeling good, so let's see at Silverstone and that was even better.

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“To be honest we are in a good position. Rafael Câmara is far, but the last races for him were not good, so I know that his confidence is not at the best.

“He started the year super well, especially when we at Campos we struggled with luck, because it was not about pace, it was just luck.

“I prefer to be the one that is chasing, to the one being chased. Still a lot of races to go, races on tracks I like a lot, where the degradation will be a key factor. I know we have a good chance and I work to take the opportunities.”