Richard Verschoor delivered his strongest F2 qualifying performance of the 2025 season at the Austrian GP, securing third place on the grid just 0.024 seconds away from pole position in what proved to be an extraordinarily close session at the Red Bull Ring.
The MP Motorsport driver expressed satisfaction with his breakthrough qualifying result whilst acknowledging that both he and his team had identified areas where further improvements could unlock even more pace in future sessions.
Mixed emotions after Qualifying
When asked about how he felt about his result, Verschoor said, “Well, a bit too excited, of course.”
“Very happy to be in the top three. The team, once again, gave me a very good car.” However, the Dutchman was honest about the potential that remained untapped during qualifying.
“As the guys just said, there was a bit more on the table. Also, for me, somehow not being able to improve on the second lap, like Forna [Leonardo Fornaroli] was doing the whole day, is definitely something we will look at. The car has been very good, so very pleased with the result.”
The third-place grid position marked a significant step forward for Verschoor, who has been working intensively with his team to extract maximum performance during Friday qualifying sessions.
Working on weaknesses
When asked about his qualifying improvement, Verschoor revealed the concentrated effort that had gone into addressing what he identified as a weakness earlier in the season.
“To be honest, yes. I’ve been feeling very confident this year with the team, with the car, but in qualifying, not always so confident,” he admitted. “We’ve been speaking a lot the last few weeks, when we had some time off, about how I can extract a bit more from the car, because I always feel these little uncomfortable moments in the car where the last tenth or two are missing.”
The 24-year-old was optimistic that Friday’s performance represented a breakthrough moment. “We’ve been working on it and I hope this is the first moment where we show that and show myself that I can take out those last couple of tenths.”
Championship opportunity beckons
With several championship contenders struggling to reach the sharp end of the grid, Verschoor finds himself in an advantageous position for the F2 Austrian GP’s two races after qualifying. When asked whether the mixed-up grid order would influence his approach, his response was emphatic.
“I will always go for the win. It’s too early to think about the championship, of course. I have to be not taking too much risk, but I’m not thinking about it too much.”
The MP Motorsport driver expressed confidence in his race pace, drawing on his track record of strong performances on Sundays. “I know that in the races I’m always strong, overtaking White as well, so I’m really looking forward. Also, the team so far in the races has always been giving me a good car,” he said.
He acknowledged some concerns about tyre degradation based on practice running but remained confident in his team’s ability to find solutions. Verschoor explained, “If we’re looking at FP, we’re struggling a bit more with the degradation, but they always manage to turn some things around, so I’ll trust them and go for it.”
Ultra-competitive field
Verschoor offered his perspective on the remarkably close qualifying sessions that have characterised the 2024 season, with the top three separated by less than a tenth of a second for the third time this year.
“So far, I guess not,” he said when asked about team dominance. “The level of the team and the drivers has been very high. Of course, it’s always the second year. Also, it’s the second year of this generation car, where I think all the teams gather more data and get a bit closer to the limit. As well as the drivers, I think they are on a very high level, all of them.”
The nature of the Red Bull Ring itself contributed to the tight margins, as Verschoor explained, “This track, I mean, there’s only seven actual corners where you can make the difference.”
“A bit of tow is involved as well. So, yes, more difficult to make the difference, but I think it’s quite nice to have so little gaps, even though I came out last of the three.”
Drawing on experience
When asked by Pit Debrief about his team’s particular strengths and varying philosophies, Verschoor drew on his multi-team experience to provide insight into the sport’s technical diversity.
“True. I’ve been in a few different teams and it’s true that there is many different philosophies in between teams,” he explained. “Some people focus more on the mechanical grip of the car, some teams focus more on the downforce.”
“I guess so far, I’ve been very strong on all the tracks that require a bit more downforce from the car, but you can see it from different teams, how they are performing, if it’s one car only on top or if there’s two cars in the front. But yeah, it’s definitely interesting also for us to look at.”
Aerodynamic challenges await
Looking ahead to the race weekend, Verschoor acknowledged the unique challenges posed by the Red Bull Ring’s aerodynamic characteristics. When asked by Pit Debrief about slipstream tactics, he shared his experience from practice running.
“Yeah, well, not really. I mean, I was actually behind Victor [Martins] in FP [Free Practice] and I think it’s also a bit of a personal preference, and I was actually a bit close. There I could really feel that I was losing downforce in the corners and then next lap I tried to go a bit further, and then it was much better.”
“I think it’s easy to feel if you’re too close, but on the other hand, it can feel a bit worse, but also the slipstream can be quite massive. So, yeah, the race will definitely be interesting.”
With his best qualifying result of the season secured and a clear championship opportunity presenting itself, Verschoor heads into the F2 Austrian GP weekend with justified confidence that his breakthrough Friday performance could translate into a good result.
