Round 2 Post Sprint Race Press Conference

FIA Formula 3: Welcome to Sakhir, where it's time for the press conference with the top three finishers for Round 2 of the FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race. In third place we have Tuukka Taponen from ART Grand Prix. Second is Freddie Slater from AIX Racing and taking the victory is Nikola Tsolov from Campos. Nikola, congratulations your fourth win in F3, was that one of the hardest fought today?

Nikola Tsolov: I think they were all pretty hard. Today I was definitely under a lot of pressure from Freddie. I had to push a lot to make up from where I started in the beginning which compromised my run in the end. I’m pretty happy. I think in terms of physical conditions it was really hard. It was way too hot. I managed to hold on and the Safety Cars made us cool down a little bit, pretty happy.

FIA Formula 3: You didn’t get much time to rest when it was green flag racing, lots of great fights. Can you talk us through the moves that got you into the lead.

Tsolov: It was more complicated than overtaking the others. Freddie was defending really well, making some switchback moves which was making my life more difficult. I was trying to get in front as I thought the clean air would help me. Finally made it stick after a few tries. It’s what matters in the end.

FIA Formula 3: You mentioned how physically tough it was. There’s another race tomorrow at similar times, winning from fifth in the heat today, have you learnt some things you can take into tomorrow's race?

Tsolov: I think we all learnt so much because there was more degradation than we expected. Obviously it was really hot but still over exaggerated. Looking at the temps tomorrow it should be a little bit cooler but we do more laps. If there are no Safety Cars, I think it will be a long race. I think we should expect similar tomorrow and try and see how we can improve.

FIA Formula 3: Good luck. Congratulations Freddie that is some debut fighting for the win, how proud are you of that performance?

Freddie Slater: Yeah it was a mega start, just for jumping in for one round. It was great fun out there, leading for a little while and then got into second and tried to reset so I could have another chance. Unfortunately, a few Safety Cars affected that. But other all super positive and a massive thank you to the team for the car they gave me.

FIA Formula 3: There was some great fighting between you two. How hard was it to balance the fight and looking after your tyres?

Slater: We were having to race but also manage the tyres and stay on the clean bit of track. The track was super dirty and hot, all the worst things for drivers. We managed it well and had a good battle out there. Really enjoyable experience.

FIA Formula 3: Your first start and in such hot conditions. Obviously gaining experience, how much have you learnt to help you in the future?

Slater: A huge amount. I’ve learnt the tyre management, the deg, especially in hot conditions, 28 degrees with a 52-track temperature is insane. With these big heavy cars now, it is even more critical to learn and it’s only going to make me better.

FIA Formula 3: Congrats on the podium. Tuukka a podium for you early in your F3 career, are you satisfied with P3?

Tuukka Taponen: Yeah I am quite satisified to be honest after the struggle we had in Melbourne. It is a good step up from Melbourne and I think we can be quite proud of that.

FIA Formula 3: You seem to have great pace through the race and there was a point where the three of you had quite a gap to those behind. At that stage did you think the win might have been on?

Taponen: I think before the Safety Car I could have fought for the win but after the Safety car, it kind of made it zero chance, it killed the momentum, and the pack was all together again. Without it I could have won this race, but I need to be proud of this too.

FIA Formula 3: Tomorrow you start from P6, so you’re the highest starter of the three of you. Do you think you’ve shown today means that you might be in the mix for a win tomorrow?

Taponen: For sure because I will have a new set of tyres for tomorrow as well. I saved them in Qualifying so I think we will have a similar chance, especially because there are a few more laps. I think it will be a good fight tomorrow.

FIA Formula 3: Well done today.