Oliver Goethe was on flying form on Friday in Qatar as he stormed to Pole Position. However, later in the day, he was handed a three place grid penalty for both the sprint race and feature race. This was due to impeding Martinus Stenshorne at turn 6 during the qualifying session. The penalty has allowed Leonardo Fornaroli to claim pole position for Sunday’s race.
Fornaroli moves up to Pole.
Speaking to the press, prior to the penalty being announced, Fornaroli reflected on a strong session.
“No, a very good day overall, first time here in Qatar. An amazing track, very fun. We were strong since Lap one in free practice. felt amazing today with the car also other super positive session in qualifying. I struggled a bit more. in sector two to put a lap together.”
Photo Credits: Formula 2
Solid performance from Invicta Racing in Qualifying
Invicta Racing continue their race to the Constructors title this weekend. With the penalty, Fornaroli is joined by his teammate Roman Stanek in the top 3 on Sunday.
“Me and Roman, we’re starting in a very good position for both races, so we’ll do the best to score a lot of points.”
After the chequered flag, Leonardo was seen stopped on the track, with what appeared to be an engine issue.
“It was just a little issue. No, no, not a big problem. Luckily, it was after the chequered flag.”
Photo Credits: Formula 2
Fornaroli reflects on his approach to the last few races
Being the only championship contender to qualify in the top three with Alex Dunne next behind in 5th, the Italian driver reflected on how he will approach the race.
“No, no. I will approach the races as I always approach to all the year. Even if I have an advantage now compared to my arrivals, this means nothing.”
Victor Martins claims the second grid spot.
After a strong qualifying performance and due to the grid penalty, Victor Martins will start from second on Sunday. However, he wasn’t fully confident towards the start of the session.
“On my first run, I was I was not feeling really comfortable in the car. I was just trying to say to myself, just do your job, maximise, don’t do any mistakes.”
However, later in the session he got into the groove of things and put a solid lap together when it mattered most.
“So and then when it mattered, I didn’t do a mistake. I just tried at some point, and I think you need to need to try sometimes.”
Is tyre wear a concern for the weekend?
With the Formula 1 drivers being restricted to 25 laps per tyre for their race, Victor Martins emphasised the importance of strategy at the Lusail Circuit. “We are not going to do 30 laps on the soft. We can box at some point, so it’s just a matter of choosing the right strategy, starting on soft order hard, and then it’s doing better than the others.”
Here is your updated Sprint Qualifying starting grid.
Photo Credits: Formula 2