Round 2 Post Sprint Race thoughts from the top 3

FIA Formula 3: Welcome to the FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race Press Conference here in Monte Carlo. With our top three finishers today, in third place we have Bruno Del Pino of Van Amersfoort Racing, in P2 Gerrard Xie from Dams Lucas Oil, and taking his maiden F3 victory, Hiyu Yamakoshi. Hiyu congratulations, Monaco race winner, how good does that sound?

Hiyu Yamakoshi: Yeah, I mean, you know, Monaco is really special. Even in the reverse grid, is still winning is winning for me. And now I'm a Monaco race winner, which is one of the dreams coming true, which I'm so happy about. I'm so proud of this result.

FIA Formula 3: You had Gerard and Bruno behind you throughout that, wanting to keep pushing, were you worried at any stage at all that there might be a move on the cards from the drivers behind?

Yamakoshi: I was struggling a bit in the start, in the first lap, before the safety car, so I think that was safety, and the red flag had quite a bit of an impact for me. Yeah, after that, the tyres felt good, the car felt good, so I didn't worry that much. I was just worried a bit, and after the red flag, the focus was less on the fast laps of the race, so at that time I made quite a few mistakes, but ended up quite nicely.

FIA Formula 3: We had that red flag stoppage. How did you handle that? Because it's always tough, you know, when you're in the zone and then you've got to refocus yourself.

Yamakoshi: Yeah, especially, I don't want to be late into the car. I want to grab my helmet, but I don't know actually when we go again, so that was quite a bit frustrating for me, but I think I managed quite well.

FIA Formula 3: Your podium win obviously continues a great start for the team. Just how happy are you as a team currently?

Yamakoshi: I mean, the podium win for me is really good, especially this is two sprint wins in a row for the team, and that's a perfect piece of the team, which is so good for me. Also Bruno got P3 so a double podium, two times in a row on the Sprint Race, which I think is very good for the team as well. Hopefully we can bring this result in the Feature Race in the future, so we should be really happy about that for the moment.

FIA Formula 3: Thank you very much and congratulations again. Gerard, come to you now. P2, your first podium in the Championship, how satisfied are you?

Gerrard Xie: I'm really happy. I mean, in general, the start was quite good, and the mid-race pace I’m happy with. And then I started to struggle a little bit on the last two laps. But again, I'm super happy to get my maiden podium, and especially in Monaco, it's such a special place. You're always on the limit.

FIA Formula 3: We heard you in the cool-down room talking about the virtual safety car restart, where it was a bit dicey for you. Just talk us through that moment again.

Xie: No, it was quite funny in that respect, because the virtual safety car came in quite short, and then when I was turning into the chicane, my engineer told me there's a marshal on the track, so I slowed down a bit more than usual. And then when I was at the apex, next to the wall, my engineer was already saying, like, VSC ending, you have to go, and then he's already gone. That was quite funny.

FIA Formula 3: You had to attack and defend throughout the whole race, so obviously Monaco is a very unique track, but how did you manage that?

Xie: Yeah, I think after the VSC I just tried to catch up, tried to get back what I lost, and in the end, I think I managed to get within DRS of the others, but it didn't really do too much, because Monaco is just so narrow. And then, yeah, that's it, to the end of the race. That's awesome.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations again, Gerard. Bruno, your second Sprint Race podium already this season, in a short start. How happy are you with the result?

Bruno del Pino: Yeah, I've been really happy. So far, so good. It's been a great start to the season. Hopefully, tomorrow, I've managed to get points again. It's just trying to maximise what we have, trying to get as many points as we can. I think two sprint podiums are good. Hopefully, I can get my Feature Race bronze quite soon. Maybe not here, because it's quite difficult to overtake. But, yeah, I think overall, it's been a great start, and I'm just trying to keep the momentum.

FIA Formula 3: You were close to Gerrard in the first laps. Did you think there was a move on at all at any point?

Del Pino: Well, I mean, the thing is, it's very difficult to overtake in Monaco. And then, if you're not quite close a T10, a dive bomb is a bit of a suicide move. For one point, I was not going to risk everything. I did risk a bit in the first lap. So, I started with Rodin, which then came out beneficial for me. But then I just tried to maintain my position. And we knew that it's just a long game for points. And for me, it's not worth a risk again. My pace was good, I think I could have had a bit more in myself. But, yeah, at the end of the day, it's Monaco. There's no way to go except when you can, if you’re really close.

FIA Formula 3: Absolutely. You've yet to finish outside the top four. And you’ve already said it's going to be a very tough task tomorrow. But what do you think is possible?

Del Pino: Well, I mean, I don't know. I think I start about eight. I don't know. I heard something else is coming as well tomorrow. Hopefully, I can start further in the front pack a bit. But, yeah, as I said, Monaco is very difficult. I'm trying to get a good start as I did today. Maybe get one, if not two, positions on the first four. But then just try to see if there's anything important in front, that can benefit me, try to keep the composure and not make mistakes. And then, yeah, all the points that come tomorrow, that come into our championship will be good for me.

FIA Formula 3: Absolutely. Thank you very much.