ART have the pace for top five, says Fernandez

It may not be quite as emphatic as the pole position he scored in Round 1 at Spielberg, but Sebastián Fernández says it ‘feels good’ to return to the top five in Qualifying, at his home event in Spain.

It’s the ART Grand Prix driver’s highest qualifying position since that weekend in Austria, and the Spaniard says the result feels all the sweeter given how competitive the grid was, with less than a second separating the top 23 places.

“It was extremely tough,” Fernández explained. “Not only because of the heat, but also because the times are all really, really close to each other, so there was no room for any mistakes.

“In the end, we took P5, and I felt good in the car, I felt comfortable. We are happy because it is a strong place to start the race tomorrow.”

He may not have featured in the top five since Round 1, but Fernández has regularly made the top ten in Qualifying this season, and clearly has the pace to compete, so was pleased to have been able to demonstrate this.

make the top five. It is not always possible, because anything can happen, and to be honest, we haven’t had the best of luck.

“I think that we have shown, me and the team, that the pace has been constantly there, in Quali and in races. To be back in the top five, feels good, it feels like it should be.”

Starting from fifth, Fernandez will be attempting to score his first podium in Formula 3 in Race 1 tomorrow.

Fernández concluded: “Tomorrow, we start in a good position, but for sure, the guys in front are really strong, so it is going to be a hard race, a tough one, but for sure we can fight for a podium.”