Giusti aiming for top three result after fast Barcelona start for MP Motorsport

Alessandro Giusti started the Barcelona weekend in a good place, finishing second in Free Practice for MP Motorsport.

The Williams Racing Development Driver was 0.3s down on session-topping Rafael Câmara, and speaking after the session, he explained that he was satisfied with his efforts, despite traffic and little mistakes impacting his fastest laptime.

“It was a tough session for us in the car,” Giusti said after stepping out of the car. “The temperature was quite high, and the key was to just get the tyres in the right window.

“My lap was quite clean, and I’m quite happy with it, apart from a bit of traffic in sector three and some mistakes. Just some adjustments to make for Qualifying.”

It was a much stronger start to the weekend for the MP driver compared to the Monte Carlo Free Practice, where he finished outside of the top 12 in P13.

Giusti says that it was a big momentum boost to start on the front foot in Barcelona, but he’s wary of getting too ahead of himself, with track conditions set to evolve once again before they head back out for Qualifying later on.

“Monaco and Imola was a frustrating Qualifying. FP was a bit stronger, but we just need to put it in the window in Qualifying.

“I think the deg will be much higher come Qualifying. I don’t know how much. But there will be a little bit more grip with F1 and F2, but we’ll see. It will definitely be one lap. The second lap was quite slow. So definitely one push on each set later.”

Most importantly however, Giusti says he is feeling very at home in the MP car this weekend and believes the team is well-placed to get a good result this weekend.

Teammate Tim Tramnitz also secured a top six result in Free Practice, and Giusti says the team has made steps forward from earlier this season.

READ MORE: PRACTICE: Câmara comfortably quickest in Barcelona for TRIDENT

Asked whether this could be the day he secures his first F3 pole, the Frenchman was hopeful, but says a strong result is a positive one either way.

“The car is so good to drive. Since the start of the year, I’ve liked where the car is at. I think the pace is there. I’m enjoying working together with the team, and we will get there.

“As a team, it’s good to have multiple drivers up there, to have a teammate close and we can work together to help the car. From the beginning we’ve all been quite close and quite fast.

“I hope so! I would be happy with P2, but in Barcelona we know the deg is quite high and we know we are quite fast, so the top three would be amazing.”