2020 Round 6 post-Qualifying press conference

THOUGHTS FROM SARGEANT, HUGHES AND LAWSON

FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to the press conference with the top three qualifiers for Race 1 of this weekend's FIA Formula 3 Championship round in Spain. We are joined by pole-sitter Logan Sargeant for PREMA Racing. In second place is Jake Hughes for HWA RACELAB, and third is Liam Lawson for Hitech Grand Prix. Logan, three straight pole positions for you. It looks like you are getting the hang of this Qualifying lark?

Logan Sargeant: I am feeling pretty good in Qualifying at the moment. I have a really good feeling in the car, so a big thank you to PREMA. They have been putting together a really good car for me. I am happy with the balance and how I am feeling.

FIA Formula 3: If I read out your Qualifying results this season, it is fourth, third, second, first, first, first. Does that sort of progression and consistency give you confidence each time you go into a Qualifying session?

Logan: Absolutely. Knowing, going into the session, that if you deliver you are going to be at the front, is definitely an added boost.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations today and well done. Jake, one place better than last weekend, second this weekend. Is it good to translate your performance from one place to another?

Jake Hughes: For sure. As I commented in Silverstone, we took a new direction with the car there and that seemed to pay off in the first attempt with P3. I am really happy to come to a different circuit and go one better and be on the front row tomorrow. Credit to the team. We obviously had a difficult start to the year, and we seem to be bouncing back - shall we say - quite well at the moment. I am looking forward to having a strong result tomorrow.

FIA Formula 3: In Race 1 last weekend, you finished one place higher than your starting position, so what are the chances of doing that tomorrow?

Jake: We will try! I don't think Logan would be very happy with that, but I would be if it happens. Me and Liam were battling quite hard last week on the first lap, so maybe this week I can battle Logan a bit as well.

FIA Formula 3: Liam, it is the same top three as last week, just in a slightly different order. How satisfied are you with that Qualifying position?

Liam Lawson: Considering what happened in the session, it is actually a pretty good result. We had a lot of issues on the first run, big engine problems, and we were lucky enough to fix it, but unfortunately when I went to go back out again, we couldn't start the car and ended up at the back of the queue. Before I started the lap, I spent a minute in the last sector behind the entire field, basically doing 5-10kph, so considering everything, it is not bad. The car was quite good today and I was really happy with it, so in that sense, it is a little bit gutting. I think there could have been potential today for at least a front row. But for tomorrow, we just have to focus on the start. I think tyre wear is going to be pretty big round here. The deg is always massive here, so we have to focus on that and grab as many points as we can.

FIA Formula 3: It is your third top three Qualifying performance in a row, but it is more points for Logan. Do you start looking at the Championship picture at this stage, and thinking you need to start to take points off him?

Liam: Obviously that is the goal, and that's what we are trying to do. As we were saying before, the Qualifying points are huge. Getting four points for a pole position… you don't even get that for the fastest lap in the race or anything, so it is massive. The goal is to get pole positions, but every time we have a car capable of doing that something seems to get in the way, so we have to try and get on top of it more for sure. Obviously, there are more points in the race and that is where we are going to try and have the best result.

FIA Formula 3: Thank you. Logan, returning to you, you had some real momentum building up until Race 2 last weekend, so does it feel important to bounce back this weekend?

Logan: Honestly, I am not stressed about Race 2 at all. In a reverse grid, you have to be aggressive when you try and go forward, and sometimes those things happen. I know starting from the front, we have the pace, so I am just looking forward.