PREMA secured two good starting positions during qualifying for Round 3 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship at Baku.
Despite a tough opening run at the Azerbaijani street circuit, Oscar Piastri managed to put together a brilliant lap to claim third for the Feature Race. The first Sprint Race will see him start in eighth due to the reverse grid nature.
Piastri said: “We got P3 in qualifying, another good session. I didn’t have an ideal first run; I made a mistake in the first push, and then it was messy for everyone. I had to regroup after that.
“Then we had a good second run, we made a change to the car in the middle, and it was much better. I think my laps were pretty good; they were both very similar lap timewise.
“Happy with P3, doesn’t mean quite as much as it did in Monaco, but it’s always nice to be starting at the pointy end. I’m looking forward to the races.”
Meanwhile, Robert Shwartzman had to settle for 10th after struggling with traffic. However, rounding out the Top 10 means that the Russian will start Sprint Race 1 from first on the grid.
Shwartzman said: “Qualifying didn’t go at all as we wished. I’m not sure exactly what was the issue. I know that I was struggling a bit to get the feeling with the car.
“On my lap, I probably made too many mistakes that compromised the time in the end. We have something to work on; we need to look at the data.
“Technically, here in Baku, you can overtake, and tomorrow we will start from P1 in race 1. I hope we can fix a few of the things, have a good setup base in terms of race pace and do a good job.”
With the nature of the track and the long straights, there are chances to overtake on this street circuit. Both PREMA drivers will have to work hard to turn their starting positions into good results in all three of the races.
Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited
