2022 Round 8 post-Sprint Race press conference

Thoughts from Collet, Correa and O'Sullivan

FIA Formula 3: A very warm welcome to the top three finishers for the FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race here at Zandvoort. In third place, Zak O'Sullivan for Carlin, in second place, Juan Manuel Correa for ART Grand Prix, and taking his second win of the season, our victor, Caio Collet for MP Motorsport. Caio, what a superb race by you, from fourth on the grid. How good was the car? How good were you?

Caio Collet: I think the car was really, really good. From Lap 1, I had good grip and good balance straightaway. I could attack from the first corner. So yeah, a big thanks to MP. I think they did a really good job. We were a bit unlucky yesterday with the Red Flag, but it's the same for everyone. I'm happy that we could turn around and get away with the win today.

FIA Formula 3: Great result for MP, at their home race?

Collet: I think it's always very special to win, especially here in Zandvoort. They have a lot of guests and a lot of people cheering for them. So it's really nice. I'm really happy for the team, especially for Sander, he's a really nice guy. To win here for the team, it's a pleasure.

FIA Formula 3: Just talk us through your challenge for the lead on Juan Manuel, you were side by side for a long time.

Collet: It's always nice to race again him, we had a few battles this year. He's fair, to be honest, it's tough racing. On the first one, I think I had two wheels in the gravel, or in the grass, but I would have done the same if I was in his position to be really honest. It's really nice. I mean, it's tough racing but I enjoyed it.

FIA Formula 3: Any dramas at all for you? I mean, your fastest lap on the final lap of the race, would suggest not.

Collet: After I got past into P1, of course, I had to pull and try to break away from the DRS and I had the car to do it. After that, I was just trying to manage the gap, and to see if I could attempt the best lap in the last lap. I did it. I think I had the tyres to do it. The car worked really well the whole race. So I'm just really happy.

FIA Formula 3: Very well done to you. Thank you, Caio. Juan Manuel, we'll come to you now. Huge congratulations, your first podium since the accident? This must be a very emotional moment for you. Can you describe what it means to be back up there?

Victor Martins: Thank you. It feels very special. Of course, I would have loved for it to be a win. I think we were close. But Caio had a little bit too much for us today. But nonetheless, I think it's a long time coming this year, we've been close, we've been a bit unlucky. The season was cut short by a fracture, so to come back and be competitive in the last few races was our goal. So I'm happy about it. Very emotional. Also, Zandvoort is a very special event and an incredible track. So I'm thrilled to be here.

FIA Formula 3: Can you just talk us through your battle with Caio?

Martins: As he said, we know each other quite well and we've had some good battles. It is hard racing. I was not going to give away the first position easily and he knows that, but it was always within the limits. In the end, I knew he was quite a bit faster. On his second attempt, I took the smart route and said, okay, you can have this one. Maybe I'll catch you at the end of the race, but it was not possible. So still a P2 is nine points for the Championship, which is important.

FIA Formula 3: Now we've got the Feature Race still to come here. We've got Monza next weekend, how much more is there to come from you and ART?

Martins: Well, we'll see! We're pushing very hard for this last part of the season. We've had a triple header now, so it's a good chance to get into a good momentum and keep building with the team. It's a bit of a shame that the seasons coming to an end because we're enjoying it. We're looking forward to, first of all, tomorrow's race I think we can come back and score some points. Then Monza is a track that I like very much. So I'm looking forward to that.

FIA Formula 3: All right. Very well done to you. Thank you very much. Zak coming to you now. It's been a while since your last podium at Silverstone. Do you feel a sense of relief to be back up there?

Zak O'Sullivan: It's obviously great. I think since Silverstone, we struggled a bit for pace with a car. Then we had a few difficult and unlucky weekends. I think last weekend we had a good shot but unfortunately made a mistake in the Sprint Race. But yeah, great to be back up here on the podium.

FIA Formula 3: You were so close to Juan Manuel for the entire race, did any opportunities present themselves?

O'Sullivan: Not really, to be honest. I think honestly, I was within the DRS train and I think I had Edgar behind me as well. Around here, it's pretty hard to overtake. Obviously, you saw with Caio he had quite a bit of pace early on and was able to make the move. I really think that the first kind of first four laps was the place and the time you had to make the move. After that, it gets a bit tricky, when you get into the dirty air.

FIA Formula 3: Feature Race tomorrow. What did you learn today that can help you tomorrow?

O'Sullivan: I think the Sprint Race is always good. It gives you quite a good baseline of how the car is doing obviously the Feature Race is seven laps longer again, so you can kind of predict what the tyre wear will be and how the degradation will be. I'm starting from P10 so scoring points as a team is kind of our goal, so we're in a good position to do that. Hopefully, we can make up a few positions.

FIA Formula 3: Well done to you.