Philippe urges ART to keep pushing after Tsolov’s Budapest victory

ART Grand Prix Team Principal Sébastien Philippe was happy to see Nikola Tsolov win the Budapest Feature Race but urged his squad to keep up the hard work.

Starting in second, Tsolov took the lead from teammate Laurens van Hoepen, who qualified on Pole Position, on the run down to Turn 1 and managed the race perfectly as he crossed the line to take his first Feature Race victory.

Unfortunately, having finished second van Hoepen was disqualified post-race after his car was found to be underweight.

FEATURE RACE: Tsolov takes third win of 2024 in ART 1-2 finish

This promoted the other ART driven by Christian Mansell up to fourth, giving the team 48 points across the weekend – the most of any team – and strengthening their grip on second place in the Championship.

Now on 225 points and 42 clear of Trident in third, Philippe is happy with how things are going but is still demanding more, given the tight nature of Formula 3.

“I think for sure Nikola has done well,” said Philippe. “Being in front at that type of circuit it's also an advantage as it makes it easier. I think no matter the result I am really happy with the way the team has been working since the beginning of the year.

“I really feel that altogether with the three drivers we are making steps forward and it's getting better and better, so this is what makes me happy. When you analyse the races after there are many small details that depending how they go can change a lot.

“So, we still need to push because it's not like we are dominating anything. We were not lucky, but we could do the quali that others didn't. So, we just need to stay really calm on that and continue working the way we have been, that's the most important thing.”

Philippe continued to explain how the Budapest Qualifying shows how quickly you can have both a good and a bad weekend in this Championship.

READ MORE: Van Hoepen disqualified, Zagazeta penalised following Budapest Feature Race

Van Hoepen and Tsolov went to the top of the timesheets on their last push laps but others behind could not complete their final attempts because the session was Red Flagged following Luke Browning’s collision with the barrier.

“Between having a clean weekend and having a not clean weekend it's split by a fine line,” explained Philippe. “You can really mess it up very quickly, quali is one of the key points and we will one day mess up.

“It happens sometimes that you are nowhere, it's just small details, so we just have to stay calm, but it's more the approach of all the staff who are doing a fantastic job along with the drivers.”

The ART Team Principal was also pleased with how Tsolov and van Hoepen drove in the lead, revealing that a pre-race conversation about keeping it clean in the first six laps would be crucial for them, and so it proved to be as the pair pulled away from those behind.

A late Safety Car reduced their advantage, but Tsolov would still give ART their first Feature Race victory since 2022.

READ MORE: Round 9 thoughts from the Top 3

After a down year by their standards in 2023, when they finished eighth in the Teams’ Championship, the French outfit have rebounded well in 2024 and are currently on course for their highest points total in 2024.

But Philippe is not too concerned about the results, choosing to focus more of his energy on the process.

“My analysis is never based on results, it's based on many things,” said Philippe. “I know why we where we were last year, I know why we are here this year and again it's always small things. It's not like you go from hero to zero or zero to hero, its little things that can change a lot, so it's really important to focus on small details.”