Hitech’s Jüri Vips showed his full potential in the second round of the FIA Formula 2 after beating three drivers audaciously to secure his second podium of the season.
The Estonian driver’s weekend was fairly positive as he finished both races inside the Top 10, with a rewarding result on Saturday’s Sprint Race.
While his teammate, Marcus Armstrong, lost the grip of his Hitech as he double overtook the Kiwi and DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa before snatching the final podium spot from Trident’s rookie Calan Williams.
Reflecting on the troubled qualifying session with three red flags, Vips feels like he could still maximise the car if there were more time.
He said, “The weekend started OK, we had pace, but we were blocked in Quali. If we had been free to do a clean lap, we would have been fine as the car had some pace,”
“In Race 1, I think I maximised the situation, and it was good to get on the podium. I enjoyed that one.”
The Red Bull Junior driver was dissatisfied with how the race played out after dropping two places back from his starting position in eighth despite claiming the final points-paying position.
When asked about the Feature race, Vips responded:
“Today, it was a big error from my side. I stalled it at the pit stop. That shouldn’t happen. It was just down to me.”
“After that, it was tough, it’s a hard circuit to follow, and we didn’t have the pace we had last weekend. We are about a tenth, a tenth and half off where we need to be. We will be aiming to close that next time out.”
With only four points in the championship standings to Trident’s Richard Verschoor in third, Vips seeks some improvements throughout Barcelona’s post-season testing until the third round of the season in Imola.
