The significant facts:
– Victor Martins obtained his second 1st grid line of the season in two attempts.
– A rival pushed him on the aisle from the Sprint race, where he broke his fin.
– A bad start in the main race compromised his chances of podium, but he took 5th place.
– In F3, Sandro was in the running for pole position even in the last moments of qualifications.
– He brilliantly opened his counter by scoring points in both races.
Stroke
The two pilots of the French FFSA Circuit team which roll to raise the curtain of formula 1 found the Sakhir circuit on which they had taken their marks during the tests of last month, Victor Martins in Formula 2 and Alessandro Giusti in Formula 3.
With a mercury climbing nearly 40 ° C during the day and diurnal sessions or sometimes at dusk, the conditions were extreme compared to preparatory tests. “” I was hoping for a cleaner weekend than in Melbourne where the rain, racing facts and red flags had prevented us from scoring points “Explains Sandro. “” The first challenge was the heat because unlike other categories, we are not driving at night in Sakhir … ».
« Temperatures were much higher than during the March tests and it was necessary to analyze and adapt quickly to the set-up and piloting level, but also try to anticipate a strong degradation of the tires Complete Victor.
Under extreme conditions, Victor went on his momentum by Melbourne by signing a new 1st line, his 11th in Formula 2, while Sandro has long appeared as a pretender to pole position, before failing in 9th place. “” The car did not start and it put us in a bad dynamic “Explains Sandro,” My heating turn was not optimal and it was folded before starting the last attempt ».
Cooking ardor
A grain of sand immediately seized Victor’s machine in the two races. Pushed off-piste at the start of the sprint, he broke his fin, had to go through the stands and, although up to the top 8, a late neutralization propelled his opponents-equipped with fresh tires-in front of him in the last laps. In the main race, quickly blocked behind a peloton, he was the first to change tires and paid the price at the end of the course, going from 2nd to 5th place with agony tires.
« We were on good rails after very good qualifications, but the races did not issue the expected result »Regrets Victor. “” In the first, I had no other choice than to jump on the vibrator and in the second, a big skating made me lose several places. It was necessary to try a offbeat strategy to aim for victory and find a clean air by emerging from the peloton, but the back of the medal was the degradation of the tires, which took me out of the podium race in the last laps. You have to work well on all the small details that can make a big difference in the end “Concludes French.
The two Alessandro races were slowed down with a loss of several places in the first round, then the versatile track conditions which put it on the defensive while it was brigade the podium in the Sprint on Saturday. “” It will be necessary to analyze the first round to no longer lose as many places at the start “Explains Sandro,” In the first race, we had a engine problem, which we had to change for the second round. Then, we lacked success in the fights and with trajectories which were sometimes optimal, sometimes trashy. It’s a shame because we had a very good pace all weekend and the podium was certainly in our strings on Saturday. The assessment remains positive, we progress and by adjusting some details we should be able to be even more competitive in Imola ».
Results and rankings
Victor Martins
Course 1
Position on the grid: 9th
Result: 14th
Course 2
Position on the grid: 2nd
Result: 5th
Championship
7e, 12 points
Alessandro Giusti
Course 1
Position on the grid: 4th
Result: 7th
Course 2
Position on the grid: 9th
Result: 7th
Championship
15e, 10 points
Next races: April 18-20 in Djeddah (Saudi Arabia) for formula 2 and 16-18 May in Imola for Formula 3.
