Written by Ellie Nicholls
Image Credit: Formula Two
As Formula Two prepares to head to the streets of Azerbaijan, Oliver Goethe and Rafael Villagómez look back at their respective performances so far this season: Goethe reflecting on his last-minute Formula Two debut, and Villagómez pinpointing a key area for improvement.
Both drivers also shared with DIVEBOMB their thoughts about the iconic track ahead of their first race weekend in Azerbaijan.
Goethe, on his Formula Two debut at Monza:
The biggest news of the weekend last time out was Franco Colapinto’s promotion to Formula One with Williams - with Oliver Goethe stepping up to fill his place at MP Motorsport in Formula Two.
One of seven drivers still in contention for the Formula Three championship going into the weekend, Goethe missed out on the chance to fight for the title due to his promotion to F2- but the Red Bull Junior driver shared that he does not feel disappointed by this.
“It was a bit annoying that I couldn’t compete in the last race. I was still technically in the fight for the championship,” explained Goethe, “But I got the opportunity to drive in F2 for the rest of the year, and for me this is a lot more important for my career.”
It was a debut of highs and lows for Goethe - qualifying an impressive 12th, unfortunately retiring after contact in the first lap of the sprint race, then going on to finish a solid 16th in the feature race.
“It was a good weekend overall. A lot of unlucky moments, to be honest, so the results weren’t there, but the pace definitely was.” said Goethe.
“I was going into that weekend with no preparation or anything. It was a very last minute call, so there were not really any expectations. I was just trying to learn as much as possible and enjoy the moment.”
Oliver Goethe returns for only his second weekend in Formula Two. Image Credit: Formula Two
Going into his second weekend of Formula Two, Goethe shared that he is not fully comfortable with the car yet, but having the chance to prepare more for this weekend in the simulator has filled him with far more confidence heading into Baku.
Villagómez reflects on his performance so far, sharing his goals for the remaining races:
Currently 22nd in the standings, Rafael Villagómez scored vital points last time out in Monza after what has been a difficult middle part of the season for him as a driver, as well as for Van Amersfoort Racing as a team.
The Mexican driver explained that his and the team’s main weakness this season hasn’t been in the races themselves, but due to a lack of performance in qualifying.
“I think most of the year we’ve shown that some of the times we have great pace, especially in some of the testing.” shared Villagómez. “What we get right is the Sundays, or the races. We know that on Friday we might not have the best day, but then we can always recover quite well.”
“In Monza, [qualifying] was a little bit better. We’ll see this weekend if we’re going in the right direction or not.”
Villagomez has had a somewhat difficult rookie season so far, scoring points on just four occasions so far this season. Image Credit: Formula Two
Both drivers share their thoughts ahead of this weekend’s action:
With over half of the grid, including Goethe and Villagómez, having never raced at the circuit before, it is sure to be an interesting weekend of racing action as the rookies adapt to the demanding, unforgiving streets of Baku.
This year, a change in the tyre compounds made available to the teams will make tyre performance and strategy another unknown variable to take into account this weekend.
“[There is] a bit more to play in the strategy, for sure,” explained Villagómez, “and no one knows how it’s going to behave. No one has done that many laps on the softs or on the supersofts. The temperatures are a little bit different [as well]. I think last year was a little bit colder, this year’s a bit more hot.”
Both drivers also suggested that track evolution will play a big part in the strategy and performance this weekend, with Formula Two being the only series to race in Baku other than Formula One.
This weekend will be also particularly difficult for drivers including Goethe who missed out on some of the other street circuits on the calendar due to making their Formula Two debuts mid-season.
“Driving-wise, it’s a big [step-up]. I haven’t driven so much on street tracks.” explained Goethe. “Whereas In F2, they’ve already had a couple of races, like Jeddah. So yeah, we’ll just see how it goes.”
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