Round 11 Post Qualifying 1 Press Conference

FIA FORMULA 3: Welcome everyone to today's FIA Formula 3 press conference following Qualifying Session 1 here in Madrid. Joining us in P3 from MP Motorsport is Tuukka Taponen. In second place, from Rodin Motorsport, is Pedro Clerot. And from ART Grand Prix, capturing his first pole position in Formula 3, is Taito Kato. Taito, congratulations. How does that one feel?

Taito Kato: It feels amazing. My first-ever pole position in Formula 3. It was an amazing weekend in Monza, and then back-to-back this weekend in Madrid. I think we have a good mindset, and the car was incredible during qualifying and really fun to drive here. In Madrid, you are really close to the wall. I was pushing on the edge, sometimes kissing the wall. That was really good. Finally, to get pole position, I am very happy with it.

FIA FORMULA 3: It is the first pole position for ART Grand Prix since Hungary 2024. How was the car today? You said it was good, but did it take a lot to get it into a window where you felt confident with it?

Kato: I think it was really good the whole year. There were just mistakes on my side, some traffic, or a bit of bad luck. Every time in Formula 3, it is really difficult to put everything together in one lap. Also, if you do not have any luck, it is really difficult to get pole position. So, finally, to get pole position in Formula 3, I am happy with the team and just want to say a massive thanks to the team. The car was incredible.

FIA FORMULA 3: The first-ever F3 qualifying here in Madrid. What did you make of the circuit?

Kato: Really good. Really, really fun to drive. The adrenaline was incredible in the car.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations on the pole position. P2, Pedro Clerot, congratulations. Just 12-thousandths away from pole position. Can you take me through your session?

Pedro Clerot: Yeah, very close. I think it was an overall good session. It was a bit messy where I was. I only managed to do one push lap, and that was the one I had to make count. Together with the team, we saw that today was going to be all about putting a lap on the board, and I think we managed to do quite well. I felt really comfortable from free practice, and I knew the pace was there. Even though we were not so high up in free practice, I knew we were going to be okay. The car came alive in qualifying, and I was actually quite surprised to see I was P1 after the first run. I could not do my second lap because of traffic, and I could see on the TV that Kato was improving. I was thinking, please do not improve by too much. I could see it was just a small difference, but I am happy to be starting on the front row and happy for the team as well. We put a lot of work into this weekend, and it paid off.

FIA Formula 3: What did it feel like to drive the car on the limit in qualifying here?

Clerot: Very nice. Very, very nice. Overall, I am very happy for the team as well. Driving here is unique. You are close to every single wall. The more you risk, the higher the reward. Even though my lap was, I am not going to say on the safe side, but a very controlled lap, I was on the edge already. There was not a lot more in it, and for sure it feels really good to piece together a good lap around this place.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations on P2. P3, Tuukka Taponen. Tuukka, congratulations. How was that session for you?

Tuukka Taponen: Yeah, that was quite an alright session. I missed the first lap because I made a mistake, but after that it was quite clean for me. There was not any traffic, and all the laps I did were quite okay. I feel like my driving was better in this qualifying than in Q2, but it was quite okay, let us say.

FIA Formula 3: And just your thoughts on the circuit, on the track here. What did you think?

Taponen: It is a special track. You do not have any other tracks like that. You have many difficult corners, and like Taito said, it is very difficult to put everything together at this circuit. You just need to be good everywhere.