Round 6 Post Sprint Race Press Conference

FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to the Press Conference of the top three finishers for the FIA Formula 3 Championship Sprint Race in Spielberg. In third place we have Christian Mansell from ART Grand Prix, in second we have Martinius Stenshorne from Hitech Pulse Eight and taking his second win of the season is Nikola Tsolov from ART Grand prix. Nikola, two Sprint race wins in the last three, just how good does this one feel?

Nikola Tsolov: It feels quite good to manage to repeat what I did in Monaco. The goal now is to start looking forward in the Feature Races, and start scoring more points, podiums and eventually the win there. I think we definitely have the speed to do so. We had some difficulties yesterday in Qualifying which put me back in P10, which made me start third today. I think we can still recover some places tomorrow.

FIA Formula 3: The way the race played out today, you took the lead back right at the pivotal moment before the late Safety Car. Talk us through the battles you had at the front today.

Tsolov: It was quite entertaining I would say. The start was okay, I just kept my place. Down to T4 there was an opportunity, a gap on the outside which I managed to place my car into to get that place. Later on, I was just a tiny bit quicker than Christian in the DRS. I just tried to pass him and see what I could do in front. I was just trying to manage my tyres the whole race. I think it played out well. At the end of the race Christian came to attack me again. I thought we were going to have a few nice battles but there was some confusion with the Yellow Flag. Because we get the beep on the earphones, I actually thought there was a Safety Car as well, so I lifted too but a bit less than Chrisitan did. Then I managed to get him.

FIA Formula 3: You also had a one lap restart to deal with as well. Was there any fear there that you might have gotten attacked at the last lap? I guess you were maybe hoping it would be Safety Car to the end. Tsolov: I thought there was a chance for Martinius to come back at me, but I think one lap after the restart there is no DRS, so I was just focusing on my exits of the corners. I think I would have kept the lead, I wasn’t afraid of that. I tried to do an unexpected restart and I think it played out well.

FIA Formula 3: Well done Martinus, second for you, you started from Pole and back on the podium for the first time since Melbourne. How happy are you with that result?

Martinius Stenshorne: I am quite happy with that. It is nice to be back on the podium after some time. Unfortunately, I lost some positions on Lap 1. After that, the pace was quite good, I was just managing the tyres. At the end of the race, the speed was there it was quite good, so I am looking forward to tomorrow.

FIA Formula 3: You were also right at the front throughout but you were watching the two ART guys battle it out as well. Just before that final Safety Car, can you tell us what it was like from your point of view?

Stenshorne: I was hoping I could get Nikola, but it was quite difficult without the DRS. Unfortunately, I had to settle for second. But I am still really happy with the results

FIA Formula 3: Starting P12 tomorrow, you are yet to score in a Feature Race this season, does it feel like with the pace you have shown today you are able to end that run?

Stenshorne: I think we were close in Barcelona, just lost out on the second to last lap unfortunately. The speed is there, tomorrow’s race is going to be a bit longer, but everyone has new tyres again, so I think it’s going to be an interesting race.

FIA Formula 3: Great stuff, Chrisitan back-to-back podiums for you but I imagining there is a bittersweet feeling with this one?

Chrisitan Mansell: Yeah, a little bit. Obviously, it’s still tough with what happened just before the Safety Car came out. Bittersweet is probably a good way to put but it is what it is at the end of the day.

FIA Formula 3: Talk us through what happened at Turn 4 form your point of view. Nikola was mentioning the flags and the beeps. Mansell: Yeah, I heard a beep and responded to it out of intuition. Obviously, the other guys just kept it flat which, in theory, is what you should do. You should wait until you get the VSC on the steering wheel. I just jumped a bit too early.

FIA Formula 3: How about the battles that went on before that? It looked like it was a bit go cat and mouse at times.

Mansell: Yeah, I was saving a lot behind Nikola. In the DRS zones I was lifting off a lot just to keep behind and have a more steady race to attack at the end. I thought I would save a bit of my tyres but to be honest I didn’t, the rear was still overheating like crazy and I’m not sure why. Both Nikola and Martinius drove a good race, I have to say I drove a good race as well but obviously made a very rookie error which sucks but you can’t take it back.

FIA Formula 3: Back to back podiums for you still, well done to everyone today.