Enzo Fittipaldi was happy to have achieved a front-row start in FIA Formula 2’s Friday’s Qualifying session. Although the Rodin Carlin driver acknowledged his disappointment over missing pole position to Oliver Bearman.

Fittipaldi spoke to insideF2’s Jim Kimberley, who will be reporting from the paddock this weekend.

“I feel good. I feel very confident the car was really strong today. The whole of the Carlin team did a great job in putting a good car today and yeah, I was able to deliver P2 very close to Ollie. Frustrating because I wanted to get the pole. But yeah, I’m looking forward to the races.”

When asked if the race should be won if he reached Turn 1 in first place given the difficulty of overtaking at Catalunya, Fittipaldi put the Feature Race as, “definitely open”.

“There are a lot of overtaking opportunities here in Barcelona. It’s a long straight after the start to Turn 1. So, yeah, hopefully get a good start, get a nice sleep stream and try and pass by Turn 1.”

Fittipaldi mentioned issues in Free Practice and the lack of laps consecutively available as a challenge in preparation for Qualifying. Nevertheless, the Brazilian driver managed to claim second in a tight Qualifying session with the grid separated by just over a second.

“We only participated in the last 10 minutes of free practice. And then only two push laps a day in qualifying because the tires drop off in the second.”

“So you have one push and one push. You have to just be on it and it is a very tough championship. I guess whoever is closest to the limit gets the pole in Formula 2, that’s how it works. There’s little driving time, and you just have to arrive and be on it.”

The Rodin Carlin driver, though generally happy with his lap, was slightly disappointed having left “a little bit of margin” on the exit of the new Turn 14. He added, “I probably lost a tenth there. But yeah, the rest of the lap was really good, so I was very happy with it”.

Image: James Gasperotti