Louis ‘fully focused’ on F2 success in Spain

Louis Delétraz is determined to make up for lost time when the FIA Formula 2 Championship resumes at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend.

The 22-year-old was on the receiving end of two separate bits of bad luck at the last round in Azerbaijan which brought both of his races to an early conclusion and robbed him of the chance to add to the points he took from the opening round in Bahrain.

But that disappointment has only served to make the ADSS-supported driver even more determined to make amends in Spain as the 4.65km circuit welcomes the F2 field as part of its Spanish Grand Prix programme.

“Baku was one of those weekends that can happen sometimes,” Louis said. “It’s two races out of 24 so there’s plenty more opportunities to show what we can do. As soon as I left Azerbaijan, I was fully focused on Barcelona and I’m feeling positive about the races that are coming. I’m going to be back to being flat out.”

Louis has been one of the fastest drivers in the F2 category so far this season and his qualifying and race pace gives him the belief that he can score strongly when the first European race weekend of the season gets underway on Friday.

“We clearly had the pace at the first two events and our test at Barcelona went very well in pre-season. The goal this weekend is the same as normal: to win,” the Carlin driver explained.

“Everyone in the team is very motivated because Barcelona is the first European round of the season and a bit more of a normal track compared to Bahrain and Baku. It’s a nice circuit and I’ve driven there plenty of times in the junior formulas.”

Louis will kick off his weekend by taking part in F2 practice at 13.00 on Friday afternoon and then the all-important 30-minute qualifying session at 16.55.

The first practice phase of the race weekend will be crucial when it comes to the teams understanding the tyre compounds that have been selected for use in Spain.

“The compounds are harder for this weekend than they were in testing,” Louis acknowledged. “We had soft and medium then, compared to soft and hard this time around.

“There will definitely be some adapting to do because the weather is warmer right now and Spain is a high-speed circuit that always asks a lot of the tyres. That will require some extra work during practice.”