Hitech F2 team get back to work in Spielberg for Round 7
Round 7 - Spielberg - Preview
Round 7 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship sees Hitech TGR heading to Austria’s Styrian mountains and what is arguably the most picturesque circuit on the calendar, the Red Bull Ring.
At just 4.326 kms, it is short, but it packs a punch in terms of track characteristics. Nestling in the heart of the natural scenery, it wings its way through significant shifts in altitude, leading to spectacular inclines (max. gradient 12%) and dramatic descents (max. gradient 9.3%).
The first half of the circuit rewards power, with three straights intersected by a couple of uphill right-hand corners. It then drops downhill into a series of quick corners, including the exhilarating Rindt right-hander, named after Austria’s first F1 Champion.
While the weather can be unpredictable in the mountains, the forecast is for perfect conditions for the action to resume following a four-week mid-season hiatus.
This is a track Hitech’s drivers know and enjoy. Last year, while competing with Hitech in Formula 3, Luke Browning topped the Feature Race podium. Dino Beganovic stood alongside him on the third step. Both are optimistic about the upcoming weekend in Austria, and the races that lie ahead in the second half of the season.
Luke Browning, speaking to FIAFormula2.com:
“Honestly, I think they’re going to be good weekends. I’m feeling very positive about the second half of the season. Coming in for your first full year, you’re getting better and better and more comfortable, even though it’s the same team for me, it’s a different group of people I’m working with.”
For Dino, it will be a slightly more hectic event than usual, as he will step up to take part in his second Formula 1 FP1 session with Scuderia Ferrari, part of his Driver Academy commitments. Earlier in the season, at Imola, he made light work of balancing the awesome opportunity of his first F1 Practice outing alongside his main F2 obligations. It was a mad dash from F2 garage to F1 pit lane, and back, but clearly buoyed by his turn of speed in F1 machinery, he promptly put his Hitech car on pole, and went on to secure a podium in Sunday’s Feature Race.
Dino has scored one other podium so far in his Rookie F2 campaign, at Sakhir. The season has had its highs and lows, but it’s at this point in the calendar that first-year drivers tend to find their groove.
Dino Beganovic, via DinoRacing.se:
“I can’t wait to be back on track in F2 this weekend. We’ve had a few ups and downs this year, but the break has given us a real window to sit down and really look at all the data. We’ve been hard at work on the sim trying to get the car a little bit more to my liking. I think we’ve done a good job there, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do out on track this weekend.”
The tyre compounds chosen for the Spielberg weekend are once again the softest two in the range. Although the track surface is very abrasive, there is plenty of grip, as the track is used regularly. For the Sprint, drivers will use the Soft tyre. In the Feature Race, it will be the usual balance of strategy between the Soft and the Supersoft, and the potential for a Safety Car that can bring a sudden swing to the action and order.
The long straights provide a number of overtaking opportunities, notably down the inside of Turn 3 or a DRS pass into Turn 4.
The Austrian action gets underway on Friday with Free Practice at 11:05, followed by Qualifying at 15:55.
The first of the two races – the 28-lap Sprint – is scheduled for 14:15 on Saturday, while Sunday’s 40-lap Feature Race begins at 10:00 local.