Interview
Ugochukwu feeling confident ahead of Qualifying after going fastest in Melbourne Practice
Ugo Ugochukwu says he knows what he has to do to take pole in Melbourne, with the Campos Racing driver feeling confident about his chances after a good Free Practice session.
The American driver’s 1:34.607 was the fastest time by a good margin, with Rodin Motorsport’s Brando Badoer his closest rival, 0.427s behind.
For Ugochukwu, it was a positive start to the weekend, but speaking after stepping out of a debrief with Campos, he says the aim is all about taking this form forward to Qualifying.
“I’m feeling good of course,” said Ugochukwu. “It's a good start. I was feeling really good out on track, the car was feeling good, so I think we're in quite a good place going into Qualifying.
“We know the potential is there to be fighting at the front, so we just have to execute our strategy as best as possible. I know what I need to do, I need to try to get a good lap in and then we'll see if we can get a fast time like in FP.”
Looking at Free Practice in more depth, the dusty and green nature of the track early on meant that several drivers struggled. However things started to improve in the middle part of the session as they got to grips with the conditions, with the lap times dropping quickly.
Ugochukwu expects that to continue with Formula 2 also having done its Free Practice, and with Formula 1 also set to run on the track before Qualifying.
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“There was definitely a lot of track evolution as we expected to be honest,” said Ugochukwu. “Here in Melbourne, with it being a street circuit and with everyone going out on track, there will be a bit more track evolution.
“So I think everyone will be adapting and there will definitely be more and more grip and I'm sure the best times will come right at the very end of Quali. We have to keep adapting to be able to stay on top.”
The key for Ugochukwu going into Qualifying then is to get clean laps in, and he believes if he does that, he has a very good chance of being near the front at the chequered flag.
“One of the keys will be getting a clean lap, staying out of trouble and having good space out there,” he said. “That will be really important, and also, I think around here there's quite a big chance of VSCs and Red Flags so that'll be an important one to look out for.
“I think it was a big factor in last year's Quali so we'll try to be on top of that and try to get a good banker in so we're safe just in case.
“In this practice we were all just practicing Quali runs to get the best feeling as we could. There are still obviously a few little things to improve, but all in all I think we were really strong.
“So we will try to not change too much and, bring everything into Quali and we'll see how we get on to be honest.”