Round 8 Post Qualifying Press Conference

FIA Formula 3: Welcome, everyone, to today's FIA Formula 3 press conference following qualifying here at Monza. Joining us in P3 from DAMS Lucas Oil is Nicola Lacorte, in second place, from TRIDENT, is Matteo De Palo; and also from TRIDENT, capturing his third pole of the season, is Freddie Slater. Freddie, congratulations. You only had one lap to do it. How challenging was it?

Freddie Slater: Yes, definitely very challenging. Obviously, this morning we had, I think, around 30-degree track temperature, and this afternoon it was 55, so there was a big swing in track conditions and definitely a different balance. The team had to give us a car that could be in the window. At the end of the day, we had one lap to deliver, and we did the job and got nice track position as well. I'm very happy with the job we did, and I look forward to the weekend.

FIA Formula 3: Coming back to that track position, how did you and the team plan for it? It did look like the tow was pretty strong out there today.

Slater: Giacomo, the Team Manager, did a really good job, honestly. Hats off to him for what he did. He had all the situations covered. He kept me up to date with how much margin we had, whether we could do two push laps or one push lap, and the sequence. The run plan was changing every minute, every second. Hats off to the team for being calm under pressure and giving me the opportunity to go out there and do what I do. From then on, it was my job to put in a clean lap, in a good position with a good tow, and hopefully get pole at the end of the day.

FIA Formula 3: Were the tyres quite tricky out there today? Could you get more than one push lap out of them?

Slater: I think so, but we only did one, so we'll never know. We also only did one out-lap, which is not always normal. It was straight out into a first push, which is not easy for drivers, especially when you have a corner like Turn 1 as the first braking zone. It definitely wasn't easy for anyone, and it all came down to execution.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations on the pole position. Matteo, coming to you, congratulations on P2. How does that feel?

Matteo De Palo: It feels good. It was a good lap. It was not an easy session for me either. We didn't have many laps, so only one counted, and it was the right one. Positioning was really tricky, but, as Freddie said, it was well managed for me as well. I think I was in the right place and then also put together a really good lap. We missed out on overall pole position by three hundredths, so there is everything to play for on Sunday. I'm happy with the work we did today.

FIA Formula 3: It's a front-row lockout for TRIDENT. What does that mean to you and the team?

De Palo: It's always good to start from the front row, especially here in Monza for me and the team, because there is an Italian connection for both of us. It's really nice. Especially for me, coming from some difficult rounds, it feels like redemption because I haven't been able to show many things lately due to circumstances outside my control. So, yes, it's definitely nice.

FIA Formula 3: It's your home race as well. What has the fan atmosphere been like?

De Palo: It's been crazy so far. Yesterday, we had a couple of fan zones, and it was really nice to have everyone here. There were also quite a lot of people at the track today watching us, so it was really good.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations.

De Palo: Thank you very much.

FIA Formula 3: Nicola, coming to you next, congratulations on P3. Can you take me through your lap?

Nicola Lacorte: As Freddie said, we only had one push lap in the end, which was not ideal for the tyres or for what we had planned. Of course, you have to get the most out of it, and that's what the team and I did. I think pole was really difficult today, but we did what we could. My lap started well with a good tow. As you said, it was very powerful. Unfortunately, I finished without a tow because the car in front of me went off, so I was on my own for the rest of the lap. I'm really happy with the pace because it will also be important to have good pace without a tow tomorrow. I think we did a really good job, considering the season so far.

FIA Formula 3: Trying to strike the balance between having the right amount of downforce on the car and also having good straight-line speed, was it challenging to find that balance?

Lacorte: I think the best option is to have a tow, even though you know you're going to lose some downforce in fast corners like the Lesmos and Ascari. You just need to deal with it, get the most out of those fast corners, and take the advantage on the straights.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations on P3.