2022 Round 8 post-Qualifying press conference

Thoughts from Maloney, Martins and Crawford

FIA Formula 3: A very warm welcome to the top three qualifiers for the FIA Formula 3 Feature Race here at Zandvoort. In third place Jak Crawford for PREMA Racing. In second place, Victor Martins for ART Grand Prix and taking pole for the second time this year, our pole sitter Zane Maloney for Trident. Zane, you're the first repeat pole sitter of the season. How good was your fastest lap?

Zane Maloney: It was a good lap. To be honest, after Practice, it wasn't looking so good. The team really turned it around and to get the pole was obviously a great feeling, but the job is on Sunday. So my focus is now on the race pace and getting a good car for Sunday.

FIA Formula 3: How different were the grip levels during Qualifying compared to Practice because the track temperatures had come up a lot, hadn't they?

Maloney: Well, to be honest, the first few laps in Practice you couldn't really see anything because of the dust. So it was a very big change with the track. It was tough to adapt because everything was completely different.

FIA Formula 3: And how are you feeling about this whole weekend? You had your maiden win at Spa, do you feel that you've got a bit of momentum now?

Maloney: I'd like to hope so. Of course, Spa was great and the last three rounds in general have been really good. We need to just try to keep doing what we're doing as a team and continue to be fast and make good decisions on track. That's the goal.

FIA Formula 3: And what about the Feature Race and those decisions you're going to have to make, what do you see as being the most pressing matters in the race on Sunday?

Maloney: I think that Lap 1 will be very important to get the tyre up to temperature straightaway. We'll see what we can do, of course, it's very hard to overtake here but if there's a bit of wind then maybe the DRS will be quite effective. We'll see when Sunday comes.

FIA Formula 3: All right, well done to you and best of luck for the Feature Race on Sunday. Victor coming to you now, a great lap by you as well. How do you feel about the Qualifying session as a whole?

Victor Martins: First, it feels good to be back, Spa wasn't really a high moment in the season. I will say it's good to feel good in the car again and to do great laps in Qualifying, or at least good enough to be in the top three. It wasn't the perfect quali with the Red Flag and I also got a bit of traffic on my last push lap but we managed it quite well to end up in P2.

FIA Formula 3: Looking ahead to the races this weekend. Tell us about the overtaking possibilities here at Zandvoort. Do you think it will be possible?

Martins: I don't know, I think here it depends on the wind and how strong it is. Last year it was quite strong in Race 2, I remember, so I was making moves quite easily. The DRS was really strong coming into Turn 1. We will see. For sure on every race weekend if you are quick you can recover some places and make up some points. We will look ahead and go for a few points tomorrow. I think we will put our main focus for Sunday on doing a good start and then a good first lap and then see where we are, but we're looking confident.

FIA Formula 3: Now you mentioned points it's very tight at the top of this Formula 3 Championship. What's your read on the situation? How do you feel coming into these last two rounds?

Martins: To be honest, since this morning, I haven't really thought about it. I did in Spa and it all went wrong, so I think the best thing for me will be to just keep going in the same way. To not think about it, just push, delivering the best job possible in the car. I know I have the potential and I have the team behind me to make it. We need to stay calm, do our best job on track and maximise what we have achieved.

FIA Formula 3: All right, thank you Victor best of luck with that and Jak coming to you. A frustrating time for you last time out at Spa, so how important is this third place on the grid for you?

Jak Crawford: Yeah, it's very important for me and my own confidence. Spa was a really silly mistake on my part which ruined my whole weekend and really set me back. Coming into Zandvoort I knew I had a lot of confidence, it's a track I like a lot, I just had to go for it and yeah, the result was good.

FIA Formula 3: You've got pace over one lap. What is your strategy for the race?

Crawford: Our pace actually wasn't that great today in my opinion. After the first two runs, I was P8 in both, and in the final run, I managed to put a lap together even though there was still quite a way off. But our race pace has been good all year. With the medium compound and a bit higher degradation than last year, I think we'll have a good chance in the race.

FIA Formula 3: You raise an interesting point. How difficult is it to hook up the three sectors here at Zandvoort?

Crawford: It's definitely the most technical circuit, this one and Budapest, to put a lot together. For sure it was difficult to put a lap together. It's just really difficult on this track.

FIA Formula 3: Best of luck for the rest of the weekend for you.