Vesti’s Guest Column: We have worked extremely hard to find consistency and pace

Frederik Vesti leapt to second in the Drivers’ Championship with a strong third round of the season in Spielberg, taking two podiums, including his first win with ART Grand Prix.

The Danish racer takes control of this week’s guest column to pen his thoughts on how it felt to win with his team, what he learned from Round 3 and how he plans to tackle Round 4 in Budapest.

ONE GOOD POINT – WINNING WITH ART GRAND PRIX

The weekend in Austria was great. I got my first win with ART Grand Prix since the change from PREMA Racing and that was a special moment. A lot of hard work has gone into these races and this season with the new team, so it was so great to be stood on the top step of the podium with ART.

The general pace from the car was also great. We have worked extremely hard to find consistency and pace and we were there. We were very fast all of the time and as you can imagine, that is a huge benefit during a race weekend.

ONE BAD POINT – STALLING IN RACE 2

The most difficult part of the weekend was stalling in Race 2. I dropped down to P30, and I had to mentally reset and find myself again. I still had the chance to fight back and finish in the top 12 in the reverse grid places and I pushed everything that I had.

Luckily, the car was really fast, and I went from P30 to P13. Then, with several people getting penalties we were promoted up to seventh and even took points. In Race 2 I started 6th and finished P2. It ended up being a good Saturday, even though it was very difficult mentally.

WHAT I LEARNED – ALWAYS RACE IN THE PRESENT

As a team we learned a lot of things, but personally, as a driver, I learned that you cannot predict anything. The key to keep performing is to be in the present time and keep pushing. You should not try and predict too much, and you shouldn’t overthink the future of your weekend.

FANS MAY HAVE MISSED – A GIFT FROM YOU

After winning Race 3, two fans came to me with a present, which was a joke from last year. They painted that joke on the flag and gave it to me, which was a nice surprise. Presents from fans are very special and I always appreciate them.

NEXT TIME OUT - BUDAPEST

I am really excited. I drove at Budapest last year and it was actually the worst weekend of my season because I was crashed out of both races. But my actual pace at the circuit strong. I have taken pole and I have won at Budapest before, so I am looking forward to the challenge. ART were strong there last year as well, so that’s a huge confidence boost

As I said before, it is about being there in the present time. You cannot think back to the past or into the future. Anything can happen with the reverse grid races, so it is about being adaptable and prepared for anything. I am super excited and cannot wait to get there.

Vi ses,

Frederik