Louis: ‘F2 qualifying speed needs to match my proven race pace’
Rookie Louis Delétraz has vowed to improve his qualifying pace in the FIA Formula Two Championship after a lack of confidence over one flying lap prevented him from capitalising on his proven race pace in Monaco this weekend.
The 20-year-old was making his racing debut on Monaco’s tricky 3.33km street circuit and, in the build up to the weekend, he predicted the Mediterranean Principality would be a tough venue for him to secure his first F2 points as a rookie.
Thursday’s shortened qualifying session proved to be frustrating for the reigning Formula V8 3.5 Rookie Champion as he found he was unable to extract the performance that he wanted from himself and the Racing Engineering/Pirelli package that was underneath him.
That meant Louis lined up P17 on the grid for Friday’s 41-lap Feature Race. Once the lights went out, though, the ADS Securities-supported driver showed impressive speed as he moved up to P8 when the drivers on the ‘option-prime’ strategy had been into the pits for fresh rubber.
But Louis’ charge to the front was effectively ended at mid-distance when he received heavy contact from Robert Visoiu at Mirabeau and was forced to stop as both cars became entangled.
The incident brought out the Safety Car – something Louis would have benefitted from on the ‘prime-option’ strategy – but he instead lost a lap as he fought to free himself from the blockage Visoiu had created.
Visiting the pits for a new wing at the end of the lap also cost Louis precious time and he could only finish the race in P15.
“The Feature Race was disappointing because my race pace was definitely there,” Louis explained. “My best lap was the fourth fastest of the entire race but Visoiu was very optimistic on the brakes and took me out. That was the turning point and effectively ended my chances of scoring points.
With the results of the Feature Race deciding the grid for today’s Sprint Race, Louis and his team knew it would be tough to reach the point-scoring positions in a race without a mandatory pit stop.
So, they adopted a strategy to have a clean race, avoid picking up any penalties and continue their learning and development. Louis finished P16 and showed faster pace than the podium-finishing drivers in the closing stages.
In summarising his weekend, Louis said: “It was tough and it’s shown that we have to improve our qualifying moving forward. We have shown we have the pace everywhere apart from in quali. Starting from the back is making life harder because we’re not racing with the people we should be racing with. It’s something the team and I need to pull together and we will.”
Louis, who has won 39 races and various championships in motorsport’s junior formulae, admitted his current F2 form is hard to take. But he knows there are positive signs and he’s determined to build on them.
“If I hadn’t had the contact in the Feature Race I would have finished P5 with the second Safety Car coming out. That’s the positive for me and the thing that tells me we’ll completely turn things around when we find some more quali confidence and pace,” he said.
“Since 2014 I’ve been fighting for championships, pole positions and wins in every race I’ve entered. I’ve never had two events in a row where we’ve had no luck, crashes and no points. It’s hard being in this position but I’m learning from the experience and it will make me a better competitor.
“I think the team and I understand why we are in this position and that’s the main thing. We know how we need to improve and we can get out of it.”
