Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Richard Verschoor hopes his third place in Formula 2 qualifyibng shows the gains MP Motorsport has made for setting the car up to be driven on the limit.
It marked the first time an MP driver has qualified in the top three in a regular qualifying session since Silverstone last year, and Verschoor came just 0.024 seconds short of pole.
He told media including Formula Scout afterwards that extracting the maximum from his car in qualifying had been a confidence-testing experience prior to this weekend’s Red Bull Ring round, and that he felt “a bit two-sided” about the result.
“Very happy to be in the top three. The team once again gave me a very good car,” said Verschoor. “[But] there was a bit more on the table. Somehow not being able to improve on the second lap like [poleman Leonardo] Fornaroli was doing the whole day, is definitely something we will look at. But the car has been very good, so very pleased with the result.”
On his qualifying breakthrough, he added: “I’ve been feeling very confident this year with the team, with the car, but in qualifying not always so confident. And we’ve been speaking a lot the last few weeks when we had some time off about how I can extract a bit more from the car, because I always feel these little uncomfortable moments in the car where the last tenth or two are missing.
“We’ve been working on it, and I hope this is the first moment where we show that and show myself that I can take out those last couple of tenths. “
Verschoor, currently second in the standings, was the only one of the championship’s top five drivers to qualify in the top five for the feature race. Points leader Alex Dunne will line up seventh, and his other title rivals are outside of the top 12.
While being well placed to eradicate his three-point deficit to Dunne, Verschoor claims he is not thinking about the title and is treating this weekend like any other.
“I will always go for the win. It’s too early to think about a championship. I have to be not taking too much risk, but I’m not thinking about it too much. I know that in the races I’m always strong, overtaking-wise as well. So I’m really looking forward. And also the team so far in the race has always been giving me a good car.
“If we’re looking at free practice, we’re struggling a bit more with the degradation, but they always managed to turn some things around, so I’ll trust them and go for it.”