Leunam: Lucius, you're doing a fantastic job this season, with another win at a very demanding circuit. Thoughts?
Lucius86: Yeah, the team have done another fantastic job. This was the first track we have been to where I actually had the confidence in the car to push harder than before, and it showed in the lap times.
Leunam: That differs from last week, where you weren't sure if you were going to perform as well as you have. What changed for you?
Lucius86: The team have spent a lot of time developing in the car, and coming to Suzuka it was immediately apparent we had made progress, which allowed me to push harder. I still made a mistake or two today, but the extra confidence helped me pull out a decent lead from quite early on in the race.
Leunam: Suzuka has many distinct features. Degner, spoon, 130r. Was there any sector or corner that was giving you a hard time?
Lucius86: I think Spoon gave everyone a run for their money, but I was most scared of the hairpin actually. If you attack the exit of the corner, it can be all too easy to lose the rear of the car. After the first few laps in the race I was being a lot more cautious out of there once I had built an advantage
Leunam: The setup you provided really helped everyone out and provided a great base for people to work with. You mentioned you changed a couple of settings from the original plans. Was there anything you changed further to suit the car to your specific needs?
Lucius86: In all honesty, the car setup was as tailored to my driving style. It wears out the tires quite hard though, so perhaps some race time could be made up by adjusting a setting here or there - but the car felt great this weekend, and I think the team got the setup spot on.
Leunam: Congratulations on your podium finish, how do you feel?
Animal: Frustrated. I was expecting to battle it out with Lucius after being side by side through the first corner but I spun out on the exit. Not sure If someone hit me from behind or not. I spent the rest making mistakes left and right and struggling with lagging cars. They would just appear and disappear in front of me and really throw me off. Though finishing 2nd at least the damage was limited.
Leunam: Definitely, it's still a great result. We had a little rain at the end of qualifying, did that worry you at all? Did you think a rainy race might have turned out differently?
Animal: Well the forecast indicated 58% chance of rain during quali and it started off dry. I decided to immediately go out and put in a time just to have one in the bank. It did the job.
Leunam: You're clearly at the top of your game, but I'm sure you're itching for a race win. What kind of track do you suppose would suit your strengths?
Animal: Ya its been very frustrating to not be able to challenge Lucius but we can only carry on. All the tracks we have been to so far are tracks we are very strong on. We are a very strong team and feel we have the performance to win on every track this year.
Leunam: Do you think there may have been room in your setup for improvement?
Animal: No. Our setup was perfect.
Leunam: Congratulations on your first podium of the season. how do you feel about your accomplishment, especially on such a difficult track?
Stop It: I'm still in shock if I'm honest. All this weekend I had been gradually edging towards the top 3 in the practice sessions, but I still didn't expect to compete come the race itself. Needless to say I am delighted with a podium.
Leunam: as you very well know, Suzuka has very very distinct sectors? Which one gave you the most trouble and which one was the easiest?
Stop It: Well, the entire lap has its perils, once you get a corner wrong, you're in trouble for a long while after that. That said, the 2nd sector was always a problem for me, from the Hairpin down to Spoon, that section is enough to make or break your race and near the end I nearly threw it away by spinning at Spoon, but I just about held on and finished the race. As for my best sector? Sector 1 is flowing, and once you're into a rhythm, you're going to be very fast
Leunam: How did the car feel? We all had a good idea of what kind of setup to use. is there anything you changed that made the car suit you better compared to what Lucius suggested?
Stop It: Well, I prefer a more stable car than the setups that Lucius usually provides. To that end I increased the Front and rear wing angles by one notch to allow for more stability in the S bend and Spoon. It costed me some speed and my approach to 130R probably was slower than most, but through the lap the car felt more balanced and it enabled me to push harder, especially in Qualifying. I wish everyone luck for the next race,m and thank the Virgin Racing team for providing me with a great car at Suzuka.
Leunam: Silverstone is next, with a new sector even. Any thoughts on how that race may play out?
Lucius86: As the races go on, it's clear that more and more drivers are getting faster and faster. I expect the competition to be tougher and tighter than ever - people need to start taking risks now to make headway into the championship. The new sector is tricky, so that will need some time in the simulator to nail down. But as always, I am very much looking forward to it.
Animal: Silverstone is a track i'm less familiar with but that shouldn't matter. I'm sure with a little extra effort we will again be top performers.
Stop It: It's anybodies race. I think there are a few veterans here who know the old circuit like the back of their hand but the new Arena section is going to play a huge part in the outcome of the race. If I can continue this form and compete at the highest level I will be delighted, but there's a long way to go yet. All I do know is this: This championship is really coming alive; the standards are very high and consistency and a strong will is going to be key to success going forward.
