Interview
Felbermayr takes confidence from Silverstone ‘comeback’ despite pace deficit
Emma Felbermayr left Silverstone feeling more upbeat after converting a difficult Qualifying into a double podium weekend, continuing her consistent points-scoring run with third in the Feature Race.
It was a tough start to Round 3 after Felbermayr could only manage the eighth-fastest time in Qualifying but did capitalise on it to convert pole into the Reverse Grid Race victory. In the Feature race, a stellar opening lap saw the Audi driver gain four places and then dispatch Rodin Motorsport teammate Ella Lloyd following the Safety Car restart.
Charging her way from P8 to the podium, the Austrian was satisfied with the result but admitted she lacked the performance to put up any kind of challenge to Alisha Palmowski and Chiara Bättig, who finished 8.5s up the road.
“It was a good race,” she said. “We had a great start and great first lap. Also the Safety Car was on point, so it was definitely a good comeback from where we started. P8 was tough and I would have liked to have finished even further up, but overall it was nice.
“Nothing really to say about the race, just that the pace was a bit poor. We couldn't catch up or hold the gap to the two girls in front but at least I was P3.”
Felbermayr’s ability to salvage strong results has been continuously backed up, with the Austrian the only driver to have scored in every race so far. Entering the summer break second in the Standings, the 19-year-old acknowledged how her dual campaign in Italian F4 has given her additional opportunities to perfect her racecraft, which is benefitting her performance in F1 ACADEMY.
“I'm going into the summer break confident,” remarked Felbermayr. “I have another Italian F4 round, which we are also seeing really good progress in. Obviously, I can't do the whole championship, but the races are getting better and better, which I like to see.
“We’re going to have an F1 ACADEMY test in Zandvoort, which is always helpful. Then relaxing a bit and enjoying also some time at home.”
After a chance to decompress following the first three rounds, the season heads to Zandvoort, where Felbermayr endured the worst Qualifying of her rookie campaign in P10 last year. Assessing her growth since then, the Audi driver believes she can return to the sharp end of the timesheets.
“Last year, we had good pace there, just Qualifying wasn’t good,” she admitted. “Overall, it’s a nice track where you can overtake.
“I think I need to put a bit of preparation into it from last year. But in general, it's been such a big improvement from last year in January to this year, so I'm confident that we are going to be faster.”