GP2 Valencia - Race 2 press conference

GP2 Series: Esteban, how does it feel to claim your first win in GP2?

Esteban: Actually it’s a very good result for us, a very good step from what we did at the previous events. Of course it’s always important to be very progressive and to be very constant, and we struggled a bit with this in the first few events: now in Valencia it was our main goal to be constant, and to do a step. We finally achieved it, and this is something that personally and inside the team makes us very motivated, because the way it’s working is going in the right direction: this is very important for us, to keep some confidence. But we have to be realistic: it’s only one win, it’s only one event, and we have to keep getting points and to improve.

GP2 Series: It is only one win, but you’ve got to get that first one done before you can think of bigger things, especially with the experience in this paddock. But it looked quite easy for you today: was it?

Esteban: Well, it’s not easy! Part of this win is the difficult races we had in the beginning, it’s not only the race itself, it’s how you get to this race and win it. This is how I think, and my mentality is still the same as the beginning of the season: we have to consider that I’m still a rookie, I’m still learning, and I’m not 100% adapted to the car yet. This I know, so I will do my best to be very efficient with the team so we can make progress and keep very consistent in the points.

GP2 Series: You’re with a team that has a strong history, particularly with rookies: how much have they helped you to get this result?

Esteban: A lot! It’s part of both sides: you have to have somebody who tells you the right things, and you have to have a driver who understands what it’s about, what is the message they’re trying to say. Of course having a teammate like Jules is a very important reference, and this has helped me a lot: having good data is a good point of comparison. From this side it’s a very good team, and today we improved the car a lot: our car was in a very good rhythm, a very good balance, and I think it’s important to keep improving in qualifying to be more often on the first row: from there you can change a lot for the race!

GP2 Series: Luiz, P2 today with a very strong drive, and the second podium for the team: happy with your day’s work?

Luiz Razia: Yeah! The team was really good, we are now second in the team’s championship, and it was good for me to be back in the points yesterday and today. I had some bad luck in Monaco and Barcelona with 2 retirements, and I think we bounced back here: last year it took me so long to bounce back, and this season I realised and took the points, and this was very good for me. I hope we keep the luck, and the big effort, for the next races and keep getting points: that’s the most important thing.

GP2 Series: It was a very strong drive, where didn’t seem to have quite the ultimate pace of Gutierrez but you nearly took him on the first lap...

Luiz: Yeah, I was expecting him to run out of tyres, and at the middle of the race my pace was good but with ten laps to go I said maybe now he’ll start to go back, but his pace today was really good: I was really impressed because yesterday he was quite slow and we overtook him with 3 laps, but today he was strong from the beginning to the end, so congratulations to him. I think we need to work a little more on our car still, in qualifying for sure we are not strong like Addax and ART, but race one and race two we are there, so we need to just go step by step.

GP2 Series: You had the pace of Addax today, because you were able to hold Giedo without any problems...

Luiz: Yeah, Giedo just closed me 3 laps from the end, but I was really strong with my tyres although he had a little more pace at the end, but not enough to overtake me. I think overall it was a good weekend!

GP2 Series: Giedo, two podiums from two races at the team’s home event: that’s a pretty decent haul by anyone’s standards...

Giedo van der Garde: Yeah, for sure! For the team it’s fantastic, and also for me it’s my home race, so I’m very pleased about the weekend: yesterday of course was not perfect, I should have won it but anyway the speed was there, the car was really fast yesterday. Today I struggled a bit at end of the race with the rear tyres, but we knew it was a possibility: sometimes you have to work things out or try things for the future, and we know now that this was not the best compromise. But anyway I’m very happy, it was a great race again today with some good overtaking and a reasonable start, and the competitors were more or less out, so I was pleased.

GP2 Series: I was going to say that you must have been told that Grosjean was out, so you had a chance to get some points on him: did you drive slightly conservatively to make sure of that?

Giedo: More or less, yes: I think Razia was quite quick, I was saving my tyres a bit at the beginning so I didn’t do a quick lap, which I could because I was only half a tenth away, but anyway it’s a good race, good points again another podium: I’m happy for the team and myself, and now we have to focus on Silverstone.

GP2 Series: Arguably you’ve been the most consistent guy all year: is that what it will take to get the job done this year?

Giedo: Yes! Absolutely. You have to be there every time, even if you don’t have the best car or you do have the best car, you have to be there every time: that’s the key to this competition, because the opposition is so hard!