Championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli secured P2 in the F2 Hungarian GP Qualifying session. The Italian opted for an alternate strategy, heading out during quieter moments on track in a bid to take advantage of clear air for a clean lap.
His first flying lap looked strong and initially placed him in P1, but it was deleted for exceeding track limits in sector 3. On his second attempt, Fornaroli delivered a competitive time once again but ultimately had to settle for P2, just behind his Invicta Racing teammate, Roman Staněk.
Super happy with the Invicta Racing 1-2
When speaking to the media after the F2 Hungarian GP Qualifying session, which was attended by Pit Debrief, Fornaroli stated he was “super happy” with the teams performance. Invicta Racing capped off a strong session by locking out the front row for Sunday’s Feature Race, with Fornaroli starting alongside teammate Staněk.
“Yeah, it’s a very nice result. Super happy about our performances. I mean, 1-2, we showed that we are very strong.”
“It’s a shame a bit what happened in sector three of my fastest lap. Still not sure what happened. I still have to see data with my engineer.”
“But anyway, super happy for Roman in P1. Anyway, it’s a very nice result.”
Fornaroli welcomed the front-row lockout with Staněk but remained confident it wouldn’t lead to any complications during the Feature Race.
“No, it doesn’t create any issues. I mean, yes, it’s my teammates, but it’s like I’m not the driver. Of course, we’re going to respect a bit more between each other, but the strategy is going to change.”
When asked whether he prefers leading the pack or chasing from behind, Fornaroli made it clear he enjoys being out front. These occasions also help strengthen his lead in the Championship.
“No, I like to be in P1. I mean, it’s a nice feeling, and we have to use these occasions.”
Tyre strategy
The Hungaroring typically involves warm temperatures, making tyre degradation a talking topic for the weekend. However, this weekend, it appears that weather conditions could turn cloudy, which a chance of rain by Sunday. Fornaroli wasn’t confident with his tyre management during F2 Hungarian GP Qualifying session, explaining that he felt the tyres overheating by his second push lap, and that it will be crucial to manage the tyres at the start of the races to remain strong by the end.
“I have it wrong, basically, to say it all. I wasn’t able today to do consecutive push but already towards the end of the lap I was feeling some overheating on the tyres.”
“So tomorrow is going to be very important to be able to manage everything at the start to be able to be quick at the end. We already did some stuff on the simulator. We’re going to study some fast races to be prepared tomorrow.”
Missed opportunity for pole position
When Pit Debrief asked the Championship leader what specific factors he felt contributed to his P2 in the F2 Hungarian GP Qualifying session, he believed that the work that had been done earlier in the week in the simulator contributed to the success. He was aware that he missed an opportunity for pole, but was still content with the result.
“It all starts in the simulator on Wednesday. Me and Roman are working very well and are finding very well in the simulator.”
“So it has been a great help. Qualifying are always very close. Also, you don’t have many laps, so you need to extract the best, but you also have to drive clean because if you make a mistake, it’s going to be over.”
“For sure, I missed the opportunity to get pole position. We lost a bit too much in sector 3. I still have to see what happened, but anyway, I’m happy with it.”
Invicta’s strong run of form heading into the summer break
Over the last 4 races, Sprint and Feature included, Invicta Racing has walked away with 3 of the 4 race wins. Fornaroli claimed his first race win in the Sprint in Silverstone, and followed this up with a Sprint Race win in Spa. Meanwhile Staněk inherited last weekend’s Feature Race win, which saw Alexander Dunne penalised 10 seconds for failing to engage the start-up procedure, losing him the race win, and Arvid Lindblad disqualified for a technical infringement.
Fornaroli contributed their recent run of success to their pre and post season testing, as well as the simulator work for allowing the drivers to achieve good results.
“Just hard work. I guess, just that. As I said before, I mean, we have done a very good job with the post-season testing and pre-season testing.”
“Lots of laps in the sim, lots of simulations. We both did a great job. So yeah, just at work, giving everything to achieve good results and the team as well.”
Different Qualifying strategy
Fornaroli opted for a different strategy compared to the other 21 drivers in Qualifying. While the rest of the grid headed out early, the Italian waited until most returned to the pits, giving himself a clear track for his first push laps. This gave him the entire track to himself for his Qualifying lap, which would have paid dividends if he didn’t get struck with track limits. The alternate running still paid off, giving him a clear and free track, which ultimately assisted Fornaroli with P2 in the F2 Hungarian GP Qualifying session.
“In free practice I knew we were going to be strong in qualifying. Especially Roman, he was very, very fast. Even though he’s a bit sick.”
“I did a slightly different strategy compared to everyone else. I was the only one almost running along the track. But it worked pretty well.”
“Me and the team, we just make things simple.” Fornaroli said, highlighting the team’s straightforward approach. “We don’t want to complicate things too much.”
