PREMA Racing’s Jehan Daruvala bemoaned his qualifying run plan after only managing 10th place on the grid for Round 7 of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 championship, saying his session “wasn’t the best”.
The 23-year-old continued: “We thought that doing one lap on both sets [of tyres] would be optimal because we saw in F3 there was degradation on the second lap.”
Friday’s session was a disappointing one overall for the PREMA team, as Daruvala’s team mate Dennis Hauger could only muster the 13th fastest time.
However, there is a silver lining to the cloud for the Italian team, as Daruvala will take reverse-grid pole position for the Sprint Race, something he was taking the positives from: “The only good thing is that I’m on pole for the Sprint Race.
“I need to win [the Sprint Race] and then try to finish on the podium from where we will start [in the Feature Race].”
Norwegian driver Hauger said his first set of tyres were “not too bad,” but he “didn’t manage to put everything together” on his second set of tyres.
The 19-year-old added: “It could have gone better on several things. We have a race tomorrow (Saturday) so we have to try and stay positive, but it was not what I wanted in the end.”
After a winless run at the start of the season, PREMA won a race at each of the last two rounds in Monaco and Azerbaijan, both for Hauger.
Daruvala needs a victory in the Sprint Race to relaunch his push for the title, as series leader Felipe Drugovich will start the Sprint in eighth position.
Carlin’s Logan Sargeant claimed pole position for Sunday morning’s Feature Race.
Saturday’s Sprint Race starts at 17:00, and lights out for the Feature Race is at 10:10 on Sunday.
Join The F2 Show host Fraser Ford and guests on live YouTube and Twitch after both races for reaction to both races and more conversation about FIA Formula 2.
Image Credit: PREMA Powerteam/ Formula Motorsport Ltd
