Confident Louis takes F2 form to Hungary

Louis Delétraz heads into the eighth round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship at the Hungaroring this weekend in confident mood after finishing on the podium last time out.

The ADSS-supported driver was an impressive performer at Silverstone earlier this month as he finished P7 in the Feature Race before then going on to register his second P2 finish of the season during Sunday’s Sprint Race.

Scoring 18 points and establishing a rich vein of form at the home of British motorsport has given Louis plenty of confidence as the series heads to the 4.38km Hungaroring this weekend.

“I’m really looking forward to Hungary. It’s always a popular event with lots of fans, sunshine and exciting racing. It’s also a track that I love driving,” the 22-year-old said.

“We’re coming to this round after a trouble-free weekend in Silverstone and that’s a good position to be in. I’m hoping we can go for the maximum performance and result. I want some good points from Hungary.”

The Hungaroring is a tight and twisty circuit and has the second slowest average speed of all the tracks on the 2019 F2 calendar.

The home of the well-supported Hungarian Grand Prix is situated only 19km away from Budapest and it’s a circuit that Louis knows very well.

“I’ve raced there in Formula BMW, Formula Renault, World Series and F2 during my career so it’s one of the tracks that’s pretty familiar to me,” the Swiss driver explained.

“It’s very technical and similar to Monaco – just without the walls at the edge of the asphalt. It’s a circuit that gives you a very good feeling if you find a good set-up and manage to drive smoothly.”

Hungary marks the final round in the F2 calendar before the drivers and teams embark on the scheduled three-week summer break that precedes the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps (30 August – 1 September).

Louis recognises the importance of ending the current phase of the series on a positive note.

The Carlin driver said: “It’s the last weekend before the summer break so my target is to have a good one and then hit the back-to-back rounds at Spa and Monza with some good momentum.

“You don’t necessarily want to have a break from racing when things are going well but the guys in the team need a rest after eight race weekends and it’s a good opportunity to analyse the season so far and pinpoint any areas where we can still find an improvement.”

F2 free practice at the Hungaroring will get underway at 13.00 (local time – GMT+2) on Friday, while qualifying starts at 16.55 the same afternoon. The 37-lap Feature Race will go green at 10.10 on Saturday. The 28-lap Sprint Race is set to start at 11.25 on Sunday.

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