Ugochukwu reflects on ‘very tricky’ Budapest qualifying but plans on maximising both races

Ugo Ugochukwu was left frustrated to have missed out on pole position in Budapest but felt that sixth place was the best he could do on Friday afternoon.

The Campos Racing driver was inside the top 12 after each run in the session, but on his final run, with others having completed their laps, he found himself down the order needing to improve.

Ugochukwu did just that, as his 1:33.524 promoted him up sixth place. But speaking after the session, he was frustrated to have missed out on pole by 0.112s to Tuukka Taponen.

“It was a very close quali, so to be sixth only like a bit more than a tenth off is frustrating,” Ugochukwu admitted.

“But I felt like I maximised the last lap, which was important, but it was a very tricky quali. The tyres were overheating a lot throughout the lap, so it was something that everyone was having to manage.

“The track was even maybe getting a little bit worse through quali, not everyone was improving, but I felt like we made the right steps through quali. We were just missing a little bit of pace to fight for pole.”

Ugochukwu had qualified fourth or higher in the opening four rounds, but since Silverstone had found himself at the back end of the top 12.

While the Budapest result is a welcomed return to form, the American driver acknowledged that he and the team had not quite put it all together at the last three Qualifying sessions.

“I think just putting everything together was what we missed out on in that quali,” he said.

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“I think we made the right steps in this quali, but it wasn't easy. Like I said, with tyres, overheating, and just trying to fine tune the car for the whole lap, it wasn't easy.

“I think we probably missed out a little bit there, especially towards the end of the lap. So we'll see. I still think we can fight for good points for P6.”

The Campos driver is set to go from seventh in Saturday’s Sprint Race before Sunday’s Feature, and he believes he is in a good place to score good results in both events.

“We'll see,” when asked about going for the podium. “I think there should definitely be some big deg, so we'll try to stay on top of it and end up on the good side of it.

“I’ll have to take care of my tyres while we try to go forward. In both races, that is the goal. So I think we can be competitive tomorrow and Sunday.”

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When asked whether his championship rival Freddie Slater starting second on Sunday will be on his mind in the races, Ugochukwu responded: “I think in a way but at the same time, we've got to focus on ourselves and focus on maximising our points. That would be the main thing.

“We'll see. I think starting more at the front would have been good. But it seems the most important thing in these F3 weekends is the race pace because during the last part of the race, if you deg, you can lose a lot of positions.

“So the quali was not bad, we wanted better, but our focus has already shifted into the races to try to maximise them.”