Bahrain 1 Race 2 - press conference

Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the press conference for Race 2 in Bahrain. Joining us today Race winner Charles Pic for Arden International. Second is Giacomo Ricci for DPR and in third we have once again Javier Villa for Arden International.

Starting with you Charles, this is your first GP2 Asia win. How does it feel?

Charles Pic: Yeah. It was a great race! I started from P4. My start was not really good, but I chose the right trajectory coming into Turn 1, so I gained some positions. At the beginning, I tried to push hard and overtake Zaugg, but he was closing all the doors, so it was not easy. And after four laps I was able to overtaking. After that, I was only focused on pushing hard to be able to build a gap between me and Ricci. I want to thank the team: they made a great job and my car was fantastic today. For me, it is the first time driving in Bahrain and it was not easy in qualifying. I was still learning the track. We worked a lot for race 1. It was better. And we worked some more before Race 2 and the car improved again a lot. So, great job!

Last round in Abu Dhabi, you were fastest in qualifying, but not so lucky during the races. This time around, qualifying was not easy, but races results were much better. In your opinion, how can you improve to put everything together and have a perfect weekend?

Pic: I think, I was fast in Abu Dhabi because I already knew the time from the round before. It was easier for me. Here, during free practice and qualifying I had to learn the track. In Abu Dhabi, I made some mistakes at the start and had a bad pitstop plus I was not lucky as someone crashed into me. Here, I worked hard to avoid making mistakes again and I think I’m still learning a lot in this new category. Once I will gain more experience, I am confident that I will be able to put everything together.

In just three GP2 Asia participations, you’ve already pocketed one pole position and one win. This must boost your confidence for the coming main Series season…

Pic: Yeah, of course, but I still have things to learn. So, I think the Asia Series is a great training ground for the main Series.

Thank you very much Charles and again, congratulations.

Pic: Thank you.

Giacomo, another podium in a sprint race after another strong weekend for you. You must be quite satisfied?

Giacomo Ricci: Yes, I am really happy. I really tried to push and catch Pic, but he was too fast. Still, I want to thank DPR and credit this new podium to all the mechanics and the engineers. They work really hard and we have improved a lot these past few months.

You had to work hard for this second place today…

Ricci: At the start of the race, my car was a bit difficult to drive. I had a lot of oversteering and I didn’t have enough grip. When my car improved and I was second, Pic was already too far away and I couldn’t catch him. I tried to push hard, but I also had to be careful not to make a mistake because Villa was not too far behind either… But in the end, I’m very glad with this second place. This is my second podium this season.

DPR sure is looking much stronger this season and look set to finish in the top three. Do you feel the pressure for the final round?

Ricci: Well, I will try to push hard again to go back on the podium. You know, right now, we are looking good and we have the pace to claim other podiums. If we continue this way and manage the pressure, I am confident that we can finish this season on another high. After all the hard work, we would deserve that, but GP2 is a tough competition and you never know what can happen. We will keep our concentration and keep working well. Then, we will see…

Thank you Giacomo. Javier, another third place for you. This is the third round of the third season of the Asia Series. Is the number three your lucky number?

Javier Villa: It looks that way right? It was a great weekend for us. Of course, it is a bit frustrating to always end up in the same chair at the press conferences, but we try to do our best. It was a good race again today. The first lap was a bit messy with people touching. It was nice. The first part of the race, we were very strong. Third place is a good result. Next race might be different, when will be with Formula One. It will be a new layout. But I am confident that we can keep this momentum: the team is working very hard and we can still improve. I’m sure we can go for the win.

Arden is now second in the teams’ standings…

Villa: Yes, this fantastic! We are quite strong right now and I think it is a good preparation for the main Series. If we keep working like that, I am sure we can stay in the top and have strong weekends. But we still have one round to go here in Bahrain, although it will be quite different than this one on the new layout. We will have to start from scratch again. We want this second place, so we will have to work to try and find the right set up. And then, we will have to push!