Smolyar hoping experience pays off to end pole position drought

Alexander Smolyar says he’s already gotten back into the swing of things and is optimistic that his previous experience at the Red Bull Ring gives him a strong baseline to fight for pole position again.

After securing his best Free Practice result of the season with P2, the MP Motorsport driver said he didn’t find it difficult to get into a rhythm in the mixed conditions, having missed the previous round in Silverstone.

“The break was a bit bigger for me than for everyone else, but happily my experience helped me to get in the right place quickly. I was quite happy with my pace both in wet and dry conditions. Free Practice results don’t make any difference, so I just hope in Qualifying everything will be fine.

“I've already been here two times before in 2020 and 2021 with the same car, so I basically know what to do – where to brake, where to turn and you just do what you need to do.”

Practice was a tale of two halves for the field following heavy rainfall in the early hours before the session commenced, leaving behind a slippery track behind. With half the session run on the wet tyres ahead of what’s expected to be a dry and sunny Qualifying, Smolyar is glad they got the opportunity to get some running on the slick tyres and brushed off the unknowns.

“I was expecting it to be like a properly wet session but it was starting to dry even when the green light came on. It wasn’t difficult, but in the end, we had to wait in the middle of the session because it was too dry for wets and too wet for dry tyres.

“It would be a lot harder if the whole session had been wet and then we’d go in Qualifying. Some people have never been here before and I wouldn't complain a lot as it's my third time in this car on this track. In the end, it’s always better to drive in the same conditions that you will be driving on in Qualifying and I’m happy we had the opportunity to do so at the end of Practice.”

READ MORE: PRACTICE: Leclerc holds off Smolyar in slippery Spielberg session

Now Smolyar has his mind firmly set on taking his first pole position in Formula 3 since Budapest 2020. He narrowly missed out on a front row slot in Spielberg last season, only 0.075s slower than Dennis Hauger’s pole time, and he’s confident he has what it takes to go all the way.

“Last year, I was quite close. I think I know how to drive around here, so hopefully I will manage to pull everything together and take pole.”