Round 7 Post Sprint Race Press Conference

FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to the Press Conference of the top three finishers for the FIA Formula 3 Championship Sprint Race in Silverstone. In third place we have Matías Zagazeta from Jenzer Motorsport, in second we have Noel León from Van Amersfoort Racing and taking P1 today is Arvid Lindblad from PREMA Racing. Arvid victory at your home race and you had to wait for it today, I imagine it was worth the wait. Arvid Lindblad: Definitely, super happy to win at home. Really happy with the race, to do it here in Silverstone is really cool.

FIA Formula 3: It is your third win of your rookie season, you had multiple restarts which could have tripped you up. Did you ever feel under threat in that race?

Lindblad: For sure in the beginning I was able to build a bit of a gap, I think the first two laps. Noel had strong pace so up until Lap 6 or 7 I was under quite a lot of pressure. I think we were both pushing really hard. I think he started to degrade a little bit earlier, maybe being in the dirty air hurt him a bit. In the second half of the race, I had strong pace, and I was able to build the lead.

FIA Formula 3: How did you deal with the change in schedule and then the different conditions you got for this evening's race rather than what it would have been like this morning?

Lindblad: I think this morning was very wet, it was the right decisions not to race. I think it would have been dangerous. Bit of a shame but still happy we got the race underway, and we were able to do it this evening. Not too much to say from my side. It would have been very different in the rain but in the end, I am still happy with the result.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations, Noel your second podium of the year, how pleased are you with your performance?

Noel León: Super happy to be on the podium in Silverstone. In the last couple of weeks, we have been quite strong, but we didn’t get the results, so I am happy to be on the podium. Unfortunately, we started in the lead and lost it but Arvid was quite fast today so we couldn’t keep the pace today. Tomorrow we will be there.

FIA Formula 3: There was a lot of Safety Cars and VSC’s, did you think you were going to get a chance to attack again in one of those?

León: Not really. My tyres were graining quite early. I saw Lindblad’s tyres and they didn’t look as bad as mine. I was pushing on the Virtual Safety Car to be honest I was on the limit. Even so I think I did a great job.

FIA Formula 3: What are the next few hours going to look like from your perspective? You have an early race tomorrow morning with the schedule change, is it going to be hectic night?

León: It’s going to be a short night. I need to be here at 6am tomorrow to get on track, we will probably leave the truck at 9pm tonight so it will be a short night. But I am happy to race today. In the morning it was very dangerous to race, it was the right decision from the Race Director to postpone so happy to race today.

FIA Formula 3: Thanks very much, Matias your first points this season and you secured them with a podium, how does that feel?

Matías Zagazeta: It’s amazing, it’s been coming. We have been trying to push hard for some good points and today was the day. We knew from Qualifying that the team did an amazing job, so we had to capitalise in this race. There is another chance tomorrow to score big points, but I am just really happy to get this podium for the whole team.

FIA Formula 3: The pace has looked good all weekend, but you were under pressure at times for that final podium spot, just how tough was that to handle knowing what was at stake?

Zagazeta: It was difficult, you need to stay focused. My engineer just kept telling me to focus in front. That was the main goal for today just to focus on the guys in front. I think we did a good job.

FIA Formula 3: Is it a bit of a weight of your shoulders to have your first points under your belt? Does it mean you can race a bit more freely tomorrow in the Feature Race?

Zagazeta: Yeah, for sure there was a little bit of a build-up, of course my two teammates had points and I was the only one with no points yet. To get this off my back is a big relief. Now I can race properly and without any stress.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations to everyone, well done today.