After the conclusion of the F2 British GP Sprint Race, the top three finishers, including Sebastian Montoya spoke in a Press Conference, including Pit Debrief. Montoya reflected on his performance, as well as the performance of his fellow podium finishers.
An intense battle between Montoya and Maini saw the Colombian securing P2 during the Sprint Race.
Podium for the Sprint Race
While addressing the media, including Pit Debrief, Montoya reflected on his debut season and expressed his satisfaction with the results and expectations for the Feature Race.
“I was very fast, very competitive. It was really nice. Last week we had a very competitive race car and then due to the contact in the Feature Race, I kind of dropped back with damage and then had to drive through.
“So I was hoping to have that speed advantage again this weekend and I did so I was really happy with it since the first half of FP we’ve been very competitive and yeah it was a really fun race.”
An attempt to get on the top step of the podium
Towards the end of the race, Montoya pushed to catch Fornaroli, the race leader, and secured the fastest lap in the process. The Colombian-American Driver had used much of his tires in his battle with Kush Maini.
“It was quite difficult to overtake, especially with Kush. Sometimes during DRS, it was hard to know exactly when I was going to be able to overtake. But I knew I had the pace advantage, so I managed the best I could. And then, yeah, I saw I was catching Leo.
“And then I realized that we were doing the same lap time. So one lap I decided to drop back a bit, kind of take care of my tyres, and then push again.”
During his battle towards an overtake on Maini, Montoya noticed the dropping condition of his tyres. With the wind and dirty air ahead, as well as the strength in Fornaroli’s pace, an overtake on the Italian wasn’t possible.
“The moment I closed up the gap, he started pushing more and more as well. So at that point, yeah, I think I spent quite a lot of laps behind Kush trying to fight with him. So my tyres were a bit off. But yeah, I was trying to catch at the end. As I said, the wind was very hectic, and the dirty air is quite big. Leo had a very strong pace, so it’s a bit hard to overtake. But I’m happy with it too.”
Performance across recent races
Montoya was asked about his last four races, in which he finished in the top 5. The Colombian has continued to make waves in the championship standings as a rookie. Montoya reflected on what has been a season of reasonably strong performance, contaminated with pieces of misfortune.
Despite the bits of misfortune, Montoya remains incredibly grateful for his team and progress they continue to make. Taking it race by race, Prema Racing and Montoya continue on the up and up.
“I think I’ve been hitting my stride since Jeddah, honestly. Even in Australia, I was really competitive, I just made a mistake in qualifying. I finished P6 in the Sprint.
“Bahrain was difficult for us, but then we bounced back at Jeddah. We had a bit of unfortunate luck. Then we came back to Europe, and we’ve been very competitive the whole time.
“So yeah, I’m very grateful for the team and the people I have around me. We’re doing a mega job. We’re working really hard to keep improving. That’s where we’ll just take it race by race and day by day and just get better every time we go out on track.”
Wind impacting overtakes
With the combination of a high speed track, and high speed cars, close racing means that if you lose the front, you are also losing the rear. Montoya identified the struggles of four sliding wheels through Maggotts and Becketts.
“Yeah, I think the hardest thing here is that, since it’s so high speed in these cars, when you’re following so close, you don’t really just lose the front end you also lose the rear.
“So through Maggotts and Becketts, as you can imagine, you can follow quite close through the first part. But then through the second part, you’re just kind of sliding all four tires. So you need to make sure you find clean air.”
He continued on to dissect the race pace, tyre wear, and how the wind and DRS played a role in overtaking. Towards the end of the race, Montoya began to battle not only tyre wear but marbles covering the track. In addition to this, the wind force down to Stowe added advantage to the DRS.
“In the end, we were so close that it’s not like we had a major pace advantage at the beginning. [Maini] was still very competitive, and you’re still sometimes able to keep up and catch up to Fornaroli.
“It’s quite difficult, especially towards the end of the race. There’s quite a bit of marbles, and you’re overheating your tires when you’re behind. So yes, it’s quite difficult. But if you’re able to manage them as usual, you can make the step. Especially today, since it was so windy going down to Stowe, I think the DRS was more powerful than usual. So it was allowing pretty good racing.”
Track conditions throughout the Sprint Race
A notable difference throughout the race for Montoya, was the tyre performance between clean and dirty air. He stated, “I did feel a difference when I got into clean air compared to when I was behind Kush, but honestly that’s it.”
Montoya commented on the stability and longevity of the tyres, stating the biggest change remained in the wind. Winds were strong through both Maggotts and Becketts and Copse, meaning drivers were quickly switching from oversteering to understeering.
Towards the conclusion of the Sprint Race, Montoya noticed how Fornaroli and himself were sliding and missing corners. This was his biggest challenge.
“I have to say the tyres lasted quite well. They’re quite stable. I think the biggest change was the actual wind itself. You could actually feel it quite a bit, especially going through Maggotts and Becketts and going through Copse.
“One lap you just understeer often, and the next lap you’re just on the nose. So I think that’s the biggest change. As a driver, adapting to that was quite big. I think you could see also towards the end of the race that me and Fornaroli, we’re pushing quite a lot. We were sliding and kind of missing some corners.”
Looking ahead to the Feature Race, Montoya commented on the difficulty he will face in regard to tyre’s and their degradation. With hard, soft and wet weather tyres being this weekend’s allocation, managing the two dry options will be a task.
Montoya will need to focus on the crucial aspect of adapting, and once he finds himself in a “good spot”, he will simply need to hang on and do the best he is capable of.
“I think for tomorrow it’s going to be a little bit different. The temperature and stuff should be a little bit different. So I think the approach we’re going to have to take is a little bit different.
“Managing two tires as well, seeing how the option lasts, is quite important, especially as a rookie, you kind of need to figure it out as you go. You can have as much preparation as you want, but in the moment, it’s going to be a bit different. So adapting to that is going to be crucial.
“And then it’s a long race it’s a long race, as I’ve learned over the past couple race weekends. So yeah, it’s just kind of take it lap by lap, find yourself in a good spot, and just do the best.”
Results after months of dedication
At the mid point of his 2024 Formula 3 campaign, Montoya began working with a psychologist. This is an aspect of training and preparation that he claims to be crucial to his progress. The Colombian also commented on the importance of focusing on yourself, and tuning out the outside noise.
The people surrounding him, in a professional and personal standpoint, have played a big part in his mentality also.
“I’ve been doing some work for, I’d say, the past year and a half, I started last year in F3. I have a psychologist that we’re working with, and I don’t want to say everything that I’ve been working on, but for sure, it’s helped massively.
“I think the biggest thing is just kind of focusing on yourself. It’s really easy to get caught up comparing yourself with other people and stuff like that. I just want to say I’m just focused on myself making myself better, a little bit better every day, bit by bit, just working.
“I’m really happy because of the people I have around me, not only from the team side, but also my personal life. I’m very happy. In the off-season, I had quite a big change. Let’s say the people around me, out of track, it’s helped massively.”
Montoya reflected on what is turning out to be an incredibly exciting season. Not only does he feel a sense of pride from achieving a seat in the final step on the pathway to Formula 1, but he is happy with the car and team he is working with.
Prema Racing gave the Colombian his break in car racing, providing him with his first opportunity. Montoya is content with driving a fun car, at “amazing tracks”, and remains extremely grateful for his opportunity.
“It’s gotten me a lot excited, like really excited for the season, and at the end of the day, how can I not be happy? We’re driving F2, which the next step, basically, it’s Formula 1. So we’re there on the entryway.
“I’m with PREMA, which is like my family, I started racing cars with them. At the end of the day, the car is really fun, we drive amazing tracks. When you drive it quite quickly, it feels really nice. So yeah, I’m enjoying it quite a lot. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity. I think that helps massively.”
A big step up from FIA Formula 3
When asked about his significant improvement in qualifying pace, Montoya spoke about the difference in his performance based on the car and the performance associated. Montoya also spoke about the notable difference between the cars from Formula 3 to Formula 2.
“As soon as I started qualifying in the front, my results would show because the speed is there. To the end of last year, I did that.
“Honestly, jumping to the F2 car was quite a big step, I have to say. It is quite similar, everyone says, that it’s not as big as people would think, to say the least. But at least for me, in the fine details, there’s quite a big difference compared to the F3 car I was driving last year.
“This car is extremely different and the team have done an amazing job. Especially my engineer has pushed me quite a lot, even on the sim. And he still pushes me quite a lot to drive as well, as I know I can drive.”
Montoya reiterated the impact of the people surrounding him, in regard to his mental and physical performance. He remains extremely grateful, and is aware that everyone is seeing the improvement in results.
“So in the end, I’m extremely grateful. As I said before, the people around me are really pushing me. They understand what I want, and we all have the same goal. So when you’re, let’s say, surrounded with people who have the same goal as you, yeah, you all work for the same thing. And I think everyone’s seeing the results.”
Expectations ahead of the Feature Race
Despite a tough qualifying session, Montoya qualified P5, beside fellow podium sitter Roman Stanek. With a high starting position, and his expectation of a fast paced race, a clean start is crucial. Montoya’s main focus ahead of the Feature Race, will remain on what he learnt in the Sprint Race, and how to improve it for the Feature Race.
The Colombian driver is expecting an “interesting” race, with the unpredictable weather playing a deciding role in how it ends. So long as his start is clean, he will take the race lap-by-lap, and focus on achieving the best result possible.
“A very fast pace considering how fast I was, and Fornaroli even Roman, how fast we were and how we were able to pass traffic and kind of pull away from everyone. I’m expecting a very fast paced race.
“It’s gonna be really interesting. I think the weather is gonna play a big part of it and honestly I’m just going to try to focus on what we were missing today, what we can improve for tomorrow, and take it lap by lap, get a good start, keep my nose clean, and see where we end up in after an hour and a bit of racing.”
On his battle with Kush Maini
One of the notable battle’s during the Sprint Race was Montoya’s battle with podium contender Kush Maini. The two drivers pushed to the limits for the position, and eventually Montoya secured the step on the podium after a clean overtake.
The performance and effects on the tyres has changed drastically for Montoya between this year and last. This has been a large learning curve for him, with tyres more sensitive to heat. Montoya praises the radio communication from his engineer, as well as his fortune with DRS.
Montoya always knew he would reach a point in the race where an overtake on Maini was achievable, it was just a matter of when.
“I’ve learned that, if you spend quite a long time behind the car in front, you’re going to overheat your tires. This year the F2 tire is really sensitive to heat. Last year was more, let’s say, degradation.
“So adapting to that, I’ve had to learn along the race. I have a very good engineer that was on the radio for a very long time. He told me to manage my tires, but yeah, I knew I could get him. It was just a matter of time of when.
“When the DRS got disabled around halfway through the race, I had a very good opportunity. And funny enough, they said I crossed the line, the DRS disabled, I opened it before turn six and everyone had it and it worked. And I was like okay. I went through Maggotts and Becketts. I was like a car length behind.“
Battling with Fornaroli
A mishap with DRS saw Montoya unable to use it through some points of the Sprint Race, although he notice Fornaroli ahead struggling with tyres. Once again, he knew it was simply a matter of time before he could attack.
Unfortunately for Montoya, Fornaroli ran a strong race, and managed tyres well, allowing him to stay ahead and take the win.
“I went to open the DRS and there was nothing there, but I saw that he was struggling quite a lot with his tires. His pure pace was really strong, but he just, I think, burned them a little bit too quickly, and our car today was mega.
“So it was just a matter of time of when, and then trying to save something in the tank to see if I could attack Leo at the end. But as he said, he was managing, and he also had a very strong pace.
“But no, it was just a lot of control. And kind of staying in the moment. Being present and taking it lap by lap and scenario by scenario. Trying to focus on myself. And making sure I wasn’t overdriving.”
The potential for wild weather in the Feature Race
While many drivers will dread the potential of rain in the Feature Race, Montoya welcomes it with open arms. Montoya loves both a challenge, and a drive in the wet, and acknowledges the seemingly fun nature of his car in the rain.
At the 2024 F2 British GP, Kimi Antonelli, recent Formula 1 signing, won the Sprint Race in a complete domination. With seemingly the same car as Antonelli’s 2024 Prema, Montoya believes the use of Antonelli’s 2024 data could see him take a high finishing position.
“No I’m actually really looking forward to it if it rains. This car I haven’t driven in the wet and it looks really fun so I’d love a challenge.
“Plus Kimi won the Sprint last year in the rain in quite a dominant fashion, so I can study that data from last year. And if it rains hopefully have the same performance and same result here last year in the sprint.”
