Montoya happy after clean Qualifying with points in both races the target at Spa

Sebastián Montoya was a contender all the way through the Spa-Francorchamps Qualifying session and ended up fourth overall at the chequered flag.

It was a result the Campos Racing driver was very happy with in the end, with it being his finest result on a Friday to date.

Reflecting on the session after stepping out of the car, Montoya says that being able to maximise their result was a big confidence boost going into the remainder of the weekend. “For sure it’s the best result this year, especially after Monaco, we’ve made a good step and started to be there more often in FP and Qualifying. We’ve had the speed, so being able to maximise it is really nice.

“It’s very difficult, especially because the track is improving so much and there’s so many big changes so you want to try to maximise what you can with the whole weekend at stake. That’s something I’ve been learning a lot recently. You can push a lot and go really quick, but two centimetres can ruin your weekend, which is kind of what happened in Budapest.

“In the end though I was quite happy with it. It’s a strong performance from my side, from the team being able to maximise everything is quite nice. It’s the best Qualifying the team has had this year as well, so we’re all really excited and really happy and this is a nice track to do it at.

“I’ve always liked this track, the weather has been kind to us today, I thought it was going to be a lot more rainy but I’m happy with it. I finally had a good Qualifying, the car was really good, and I enjoyed it.”

With fourth for the Feature and ninth on the Sprint Race grid, Montoya says that being in points contention for both races is a huge positive for both him and the team after some tougher days earlier in the campaign.

The team wasn’t in the right place according to the Colombian after Practice earlier in the day, but they were able to find the missing pieces to put themselves back onto the front foot for Qualifying.

“P4 is good enough where you’re not in the mess for the Feature Race, kind of in the mix for the Sprint Race and you still have a chance to score points. I’m quite excited for it. The team’s been doing a really good job to get more comfortable with the car.

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“This morning, the car in the wet wasn’t 100% but after it started to dry up, we were consistently at the front which is really good. In Qualifying, it was really nice, especially that last lap. In the fast laps it was really nice.”

Looking ahead to what comes next, Montoya is eager to make the most of his opportunities at Spa this weekend, after several tough rounds early in the campaign that have limited his points so far.

With a realistic chance at some strong scoring results across both races, the Campos driver says that the team will be in a good position to maximise their chances, with past experiences playing a huge role.

Weather is expected to impact the weekend at some point, and while Sunday should stay dry, the conditions could suit Campos as they did earlier in the season where the team enjoyed strong results.

“That’s the key. The Sprint Race is going to be very important to understand what we need to do in the Feature on Sunday. That’s going to be interesting because usually the degradation is quite high. We’re expecting degradation similar to what we had in Melbourne and Imola, and those races we were really strong at.

“Now it’s a bit different as we’re starting at the front, so it’s going to be an interesting one. I think we’re going to have a bit of fun, but it’s F3 so you never really know what to say. The most important thing for me is going into the summer break with a good feeling, that’s what I wanted this weekend.”

For Montoya personally however, this weekend is a great chance for him to restore some confidence and head into the summer break with his head held high, win or not.

“I want the win, but I need to have a good feeling going into Monza, because I think that’s what we’ve been missing this year, just not having clean weekends. If I can get a clean weekend and just leave here with a good sensation, I’ll be really happy.”