Hugh Barter had good pace in Monaco in FIA F3 but says getting caught up in traffic in qualifying “was the worst part of the weekend.”
The Australian islet to score a point in F3 this season after stepping up from Formula 4 last year.
Barter said: “Getting blocked in qualifying was the worst part of the weekend we were on a really good lap and we just lost it because of traffic and people aborting their laps but it wasn’t the person in front of me’s fault, it’s a domino affect from someone aborting their lap 10 cars up the field.”
Despite being hindered in qualifying The Campos driver feels uplifted by having a strong pace in the Principality, the rain-affected practice session was also a good learning experience for the 17-year-old.
“We know the pace is there especially in the races so it gives us a lot of confidence coming into the next round.
“(It was a) really rough weekend we had the pace the entire weekend that’s for sure. Experience wise it was more track related it was a good experience to get a little bit of wet running as well running on a street track.”
Barter was involved in some incidents in the Feature Race such as a tangle with Rafael Villagomez at La Rascasse and a five-second penalty after he was judged to have left the track and gained an advantage.
“The incident of Rascasse in my opinion was a stupid move, some people just getting desperate at the end of the day it was for P19 so it’s outside the points what can you do?
“And I left the track even though I didn’t really gain an advantage, I stayed behind the car in front of me but they decided to give me one anyways.
“There’s not much to say on that either. It didn’t really make a difference I kept my position I was P27 but it was mostly for the team to get a bit more info on how the softs handled and the characteristics so when we go to The Red Bull Ring we’ll have a bit more information.”
Monaco is a notoriously difficult track to pass on with very short straights and twisty turns.
Barter said sitting behind someone allows some drivers to become desperate to overtake but it depends on their mentality.
“It’s not frustrating you just sit there and you wait for them to make a mistake and hope you can take advantage of that.
“That’s where some people tend to get a bit desperate and make last-minute moves. Especially when you’re outside the top 10 it becomes a bit more desperate if you in the points you can either be extremely desperate or very safe.
“They want to grab some points or gain more points and I think it just depends on the driver’s mentality.”
Image: Formula Motorsport Limited
