Louis targeting strong start at F2 opener in Bahrain
Louis Delétraz is determined to make a strong start to his 2018 season when the FIA Formula 2 Championship blasts into life at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain this weekend.
The ADS Securities-supported driver has enjoyed a strong pre-season testing programme with his Charouz Racing System team and was consistently one of the pacesetters at Le Castellet in France and in Bahrain last month. That’s given him plenty of confidence as the opening race weekend of the F2 season draws nearer.
“The key to success in Bahrain will be putting everything together, not making any mistakes and managing the tyres and degradation during the daytime races. You have to be 100% focused to perform at the maximum. That’s my target so I can make the best possible start to my season,” the 20-year-old said.
Bahrain is renowned for being one of the toughest events on the 12-round F2 calendar, and Louis is well aware of the challenge he will face in his pursuit of a winning start.
“I think Bahrain is definitely one of the toughest circuits we’ll face. It brings the highest tyre degradation, the warmest weather and it’s also really hard for the car, engine, systems and the guys in the Charouz pit box. If you can do well in Bahrain, you can do well for the rest of the season,” he said.
Louis has therefore worked with his new team to make sure he’s 100% ready for this weekend’s battle on the 5.41km Sakhir circuit. He knows how important it is to make a fast start in Bahrain and that’s what he plans to do when the first F2 free practice session of 2018 gets underway on Friday afternoon.
“We had some good testing but you cannot take that and stop working. You have to keep pushing and always wanting for more. If you want to win, you have to keep working hard and not let anything go away,” the Swiss driver explained.
“We’ve used the time between the final test and the first race to the maximum and we’ve analysed every bit of data and information so that we can improve the weak points and make ourselves even better for the race weekend.
“I think we’ve found some interesting things and we’ve made some correlations on the simulator to get those things confirmed. I think we’re ready for the season to start and I cant wait to see where we are for qualifying and the races.”
After free practice, Louis’ Bahrain race weekend will step up a pace with a 30-minute qualifying session on Friday night that decides the grid for Saturday afternoon’s 32-lap Feature Race. The grid for Sunday’s 23-lap Sprint Race will be determined by the Feature Race finishing order, with the top-eight positions reversed.
Louis added: “The F2 weekend is very short and every session is massively important, especially qualifying. The further forward you start, the easier it gets.”
