Rodin Motorsport’s Amaury Cordeel secured a personal best Qualifying result in Formula 2 at the Austrian GP, claiming fifth place on the grid for the Spielberg Feature Race. The Belgian driver faced challenges early in the session but recovered well after key adjustments midway through.
Strong recovery after tough start
Cordeel admitted post-qualifying that “It was tough”. “The first run didn’t pan out as it should have” he then recognized.
“In Practice we were really strong until I spun. But on the first set in Qualifying, it was hard because the setup wasn’t ideal and the margin for mistakes was small with it, so I struggled.”
Despite the difficult opening run in Spielberg, a strategic change made by Rodin Motorsport between runs turned things around for Cordeel.
“But then we changed something in a good way before the second run. My first lap was good, the second lap my tyres were gone, but the first one was really good.
“It seemed in Practice from the first laps I was on it, in the top five the whole time so now we have to keep this going.”
Finding confidence on the second set
Cordeel highlighted the importance of adapting to the Pirelli tyre compounds, noting how the shift from Soft to Supersoft affected the car’s handling and his performance.
“I struggled on that first set to do a really good lap but on the second set I was really happy with it. The first sector was still a bit messy but sectors two and three were good, so I’m happy,” he said.
“That’s the main factor that I was struggling with – the Supersoft compared to the Soft and the setup reaction to it from one tyre to the other. But we did a setup change that helped and tomorrow we’ll be on the Softs, so that’s a good thing.”
Looking ahead to the races
Cautiously optimistic about the rest of the Austrian GP, Cordeel remains focused on delivering solid results for Rodin Motorsport and building on his Qualifying momentum.
“Let’s see. First of all, I have to do a good start and then let’s see how the pace is. It should be good because in Practice we showed we had strong pace, so it should be good.”
Chance to end points drought
With promising pace and a solid starting position for the Spielberg races, this weekend could mark Amaury Cordeel’s best opportunity yet to break his streak and score points for Rodin Motorsport for the first time since Monaco.
