Round 7 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to Silverstone for the press conference of our top three finishers in today’s FIA Formula 3 Qualifying. In third place we have Rafael Câmara from TRIDENT Motorsport, second is Ugo Ugochucwu from PREMA Racing and taking pole position is Nikola Tsolov from Campos Racing. Nikola back-to-back pole positions for you and you needed your final lap for this one to get it done, just how good was that final lap?

Nikola Tsolov: It’s quite funny I was not really impressed with my lap so I didn’t think it was fantastic. I saw Rafa’s time on the second set which I got Safety Mode in so I couldn’t do it. I wanted to really push hard, did a few mistakes and overall I think we have had the pace since practice. It was enough to do Pole.

FIA Formula 3: Austria was such a strong weekend for you performance wise but ended up with disappointment after the disqualification, just how good was it for you to have the quick turn around and get back in the car today?

Tsolov: Yeah it feels good to bounce back and not be too affected by that. Obviously it was a tough couple of days. I felt numb emotionally, I had such a high and then it went down all in one go. It was difficult but it feels good to bounce back. I’ve been saying, nothing is over, one less round to go but still four rounds so we can recover some points.

FIA formula 3: Regardless of the final result in Austria just how well do you think you are performing at the moment with the pace you have been showing out on track?

Tsolov: I think I’ve been improving and showing progress every round. It’s only been getting better. This has been a key for be obviously thinking of the future too, trying to be ready for the next step and perform at the level I need to be, in case of a step up. I am quite happy with myself. In Spielberg I don’t think I did one mistake all weekend and you don’t get many of those. Unfortunately it was taken away but I hope to repeat it again.

FIA Formula 3: Great start congratulations, Ugo congratulations to you too your best qualifying performance in F3 so far just how happy are you to be on the front row?

Ugo Ugochukwu: yeah really happy of course The last two weekends the pace has been really good for us. Red Bull Ring I thought there was a bit more in it for me and I think we have maximised it really well here. Just put everything together, knew we had the pace to be in front and it puts us in a really good position for the races.

FIA Formula 3: I don’t want to put a negative on this but just twenty three thousands of a second away from pole position at the end of that one, do you know where that lap time might have been?

Ugochukwu: Yeah I think always when you have been so close to pole you know exactly where the time is. I was really happy with the last lap, we made really good progress from the beginning of the session. I was pretty happy with it over all.

FIA Formula 3: You had a really strong weekend in Austria despite the penalty in the Sprint Race, is it encouraging for you that we are seeing signs that you can get the pace out of this car consistently at the moment?

Ugochukwu: Definitely helps of course. Coming into the weekend knowing that you have the potential to be at the front always helps. Austria was really good for us, we had good race pace and that was a good positive. We will see how it is tomorrow and Sunday but I think we should be able to fight at the front.

FIA Formula 3: Thank you, well done. Rafa thanks for waiting, only the third time you haven’t been on pole position this season, are you satisfied with third place?

Rafael Câmara: Yeah I think it was a good one. We maximised what we could have done in quali. Still in a good place for the Championship, still plenty of points to have in the races. I think from where we are starting in the race we can go and do a good job this weekend.

FIA Formula 3: Nikola was referring the time you put down, you were on provisional pole before the final runs, just how did the end of the season go from your perspective? Câmara: Yeah I mean the last run was quite tricky, we got a bit more understeer so it was tough to drive. Like I said t was a good job from us. I think now we just look forward to the races see what we can do. Look in detail to see how I can maximise the race and try to maximise both races.

FIA Formula 3: speaking of tricky, Austria was a tricky weekend for you but you still managed to extend your championship lead at the end of the day, do you understand why you found it more tougher than some of the other races this season?

Câmara: Yeah quali was a bit tricky there, we didn’t decide to be alone and there I think was a small mistake from us. In the races on Saturday I think from my side the race craft was not very good, something that I was able to come back on for Sunday, and I think it was a good one. Unfortunately, I think again it was something that we looked after the tyres, even if we were saving, just got destroyed by the breaks. It was a tough weekend, I think we learned what the mistakes were and I am quite confident for this weekend.

FIA Formula 3: Well done, thank