Same again for Louis as F2 heads to Jerez
Switzerland’s Louis Delétraz wants to replicate his race-leading Monza pace when the FIA Formula 2 Championship blasts back into life at Jerez in Spain this weekend (6-8 October).
The 20-year-old enjoyed an im pressive return to form in Italy last time out as he qualified third fastest and then finished P7 and P4 in the respective Feature and Sprint races.
The results at Monza put a largely disappointing run of F2 form firmly behind Louis and he’s been desperate to climb back into the cockpit of his Team Rapax car ever since.
Having been forced to sit on the sidelines for the last five weeks waiting for the penultimate round of the 2017 series to come around, ADS Securities-sponsored Louis is eager to return to action in Spain and add to his recent haul of championship points.
“I’m feeling really good heading to Jerez because Monza was definitely my best weekend of the season so far. I had a lot of pace, had a great qualifying and I generally felt very good in the Rapax car. I really want to carry on the good form,” he said.
“Jerez is a destination that I like and I’ve had some good races there in the past. We just missed out on a trophy at Monza so the target this weekend is to get on the podium and put that right.”
Although both technical circuits, the characteristics of Monza and Jerez are significantly different. But Louis knows what’s required to be successful at both tracks and he believes the approach he adopted at Monza will serve him well in southern Spain this weekend.
He explained: “Monza is a high-speed circuit with not much downforce and is technical, while Jerez is also technical but quite a lot slower. I think the car we have will suit the Jerez very well.
“One thing we know is that you need a strong front end at Jerez and that’s what I had at Monza. I’m hoping we can have the same balance this weekend. If you feel comfortable in the car, you can definitely deliver. That’s what I’ve had for the last two events with Rapax.”
One issue that Louis doesn’t expect will come into play too much this weekend is tyre wear. Traditionally, the 4.43km track surface at Jerez has been one of the most demanding for Pirelli’s tyres to cope with. But the laying of a new asphalt is likely to reduce that threat.
“Jerez has been very abrasive in the past because the Tarmac was quite old and there’s lots of high- and low-speed corners. But they’ve just finished resurfacing the track,” Louis said. “Okay, it’s a bit of an unknown surface until we drive on it but it’s obviously going to be smoother and the tyre deg should be lower than it was in the past.”
Looking at his preparation for this weekend, the five-week gap between the ninth and tenth rounds of the season gave Louis a good opportunity to form closer relationships with the personnel at Team Rapax in Italy and he’s looking forward to a strong end to the 2017 season.
He said: “It was great to visit the Rapax workshop during the break and to not only spend time with the engineers but to meet the other guys that are working in the factory. It was very nice to see everyone and enjoy the feeling of family. I’m sure these relationships will help us during the last two race weekends.”
Louis’ race weekend will get underway on Friday with Free Practice at 11.oo and Qualifying at 15.30 (local time). Saturday’s Feature Race starts at 14.00, while Sunday’s Sprint Race is also scheduled to get underway at 14.00.
