The F3 Italian GP weekend did not get off to the start that Roman Bilinski would have liked. Early on in the Free Practice session, Bilinski found himself in the wall at Ascari. The British-Polish driver fought back in Qualifying to secure P6, which saw him starting the Sprint Race P7.
After fighting his way through the pack early on in the Sprint Race, he soon found himself battling for P2. Once he took P2, he drove a solid race to hold onto that result. In a Press Conference following the Sprint Race, Bilinski spoke about the Sprint Race and future to media including Pit Debrief.
The fight to P2
Climbing five positions to take P2 is a strong result for Bilinski. While he would obviously prefer the win, he has no complaints about his result. This result came with a well needed points haul. The British-Polish driver commends the work of the winner, Tim Tramnitz.
“Yeah, exactly. I mean, P2 from P7, I think it’s a really good job. Of course, I’d like to get the win. But no, Tim did a fantastic job. So, well done to him. But no, overall, pretty good points. And that’s what we need.”
Today’s Sprint Race was well-fought for many drivers, with a consistent amount of battles. This was an enjoyable race for Bilinski, who also noted the harsh but fair nature.
“I think it was a really well-fought race. I think harsh, but also fair at some times. So, it was good and really enjoyed it. And that’s the main thing.”
The addition of the super soft tyres brought a whole new advantage. Bilinski commented on the ability he had to overtake and gain just enough time to catch the driver ahead. He also acknowledges the chaos that commonly is Monza.
“Yeah, I mean, I think we all had a bit of an advantage today on the new tyre, which massively helped. When you overtook, you were able to break clear just enough to already be on the next guy, which helps. But yeah, it’s always chaos around here. The DRS is powerful, you know, the long straights and all of these things.
“So it’s tricky, but it’s all the preparation phase you do off-track to kind of learn what one person can do, how they defend, overtake and all of these things about each driver. And Tim’s obviously done that very well today. So well done, Tim.”
Looking ahead to the Feature Race
Tomorrow’s Feature Race will be a new challenge again. Starting from a position higher, in P6, Bilinski will be looking for a similar or better performance. While today’s result was a strong one, he believes he could have managed his tyres better. This is something he and his team will look into for the Feature Race.
“Yeah, exactly. And like I said, I’ll do the best I can and we’ll see what happens tomorrow. But for sure, we have to look over some things. I think I could have managed the tyre a bit better. Like Tim said, we haven’t done so many races at tracks kind of like this with the soft tyre. So, it was one of those where you go into it not really knowing. But overall, I think it was okay.”
The first few laps left him no choice other than to push his tyres a bit harder. With fresh tyres he needed to get on the pace quick in order to take the advantage they were offering. Safety Cars give drivers the opportunity a rest and time to help any graining. The Sprint Race was not short on Safety Cars so this played into his advantage.
“Yeah, I mean, the first few laps, I had to kind of just go for it. I knew with the new tyres, you have to use the advantage as soon as possible. And then with the safety cars, as Tim said, you just kind of… it gives them a break and kind of helps with the graining or blistering or anything like this. Tomorrow could be a bit more difficult, but also, I guess, could also be a bit cooler. Just being a bit earlier in the morning. So, I’m sure we’ll work hard as our three teams and see who does it best tomorrow.”
Bouncing back from Friday mishaps
It is never a driver’s goal to crash during any session, but crashing truly shows how far on the limit Bilinski was. In order to get the most out of your car, you need to push it as hard as possible. Sometimes, crashing is a direct result of this.
Bilinski remains proud of the hard work he put in to be able to Qualify well, and go on to perform well in the Sprint Race. Rodin Motorsport have worked hard to support Bilinski to get to this point, and he expressed his gratitude to them.
“It wasn’t ideal crashing in free practice on the first lap. But I think that’s also part of what we do. You know, we’re trying to push as hard as we can and all of these things. So, no, it’s great to be here. And I think I did a good job in myself from only doing half a lap in practice, really, to be able to qualify where I did and now be on the podium. So, I’m very thankful to the team as well. They’ve done a great job. And, no, it’s great. And we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
A result that means a lot to the whole family
“It means clearly, as you saw, a lot. You know, it’s a very emotional sport. So much goes into it. Him personally has sacrificed so much for me to be here. So, I’m forever grateful for that. And, no, I guess it’s nice to see some of the emotion like that. But, yeah, it’s cool to see. And I just can’t thank him and my family and everyone that’s brought me to this position enough.”
Reflection on the season
Reflecting on what has been a season of highs and lows, Bilinski highlights Melbourne, Monaco, and Monza as his stronger rounds. While some rounds have brought misfortunes, he knows this is just how racing goes. He takes the lessons from each round and takes them into the following ones.
Bilinski remains happy with the season he has had, keeping in mind this is his rookie F3 season. The season is not yet over, and he still has this weekend to go. The Feature Race remains his final chance to capitalise on the Championship Standings.
“There’s been some very, very good moments. Like the first race of the season, Monaco, and now here, there’s been in the middle of the season some not so good moments. But I guess that’s racing, that’s Formula 3, that’s motorsport in general, you know. So it’s about learning from all of these. I’m happy with the job in the end. It’s not done yet. There’s still one more race to try and climb a bit higher in the championship. But I guess we’ll be pushing to hopefully do that.”
Regardless, this is a strong and motivating way to head into the Winter. This race weekend is no different to any other he has competed in this season. He will continue on with the same goals in mind.
“Yeah, it’s definitely good going into the winter. But every race is the same for me. We all have the same job and we all want to win. So, that’s kind of how I look at it. But, of course, it’s a nice way to go into the winter break.”
The switch to sustainable fuel
The Formula 3 grid made the switch to 100% sustainable fuel this year, which is a step that was necessary to take. Although it may not be perfected yet, Bilinski is yet to notice any problems caused by the fuel.
“I think it’s kind of how everything’s moving forward now. And so, they’ve done a fantastic job. Also, like Tim said, there’s still a way to go probably, but we didn’t lose any power and things like this. So, that’s a bonus.”
