De la Rosa: The most difficult thing in Szpilberg is qualifying

      Before the Austrian Grand Prix, former Formula 1 racer and Aston Martin Ambassador Pedro de la Rosa spoke about the features of the track and the latest updates to the AMR25…

      Q: What is the main challenge of the Austrian Grand Prix?Pedro de la Rosa: The most difficult thing in Spielberg is qualifying. Due to the small number of turns, the Red Bull Ring is one of those tracks where one small mistake can ruin everything.

      In a Formula 1 car, you only notice seven turns. Each of them is almost 15% of the lap, for a good time you need to drive all the turns perfectly, there is simply no place to make up for lost time.

      On a short lap, the results are very dense, which means that if you lose only one tenth, the rider can drop out of the fight ahead of schedule.

      You constantly communicate by radio with your engineer in order to find a free place for a quick lap and not interfere with others.

      Traffic is especially difficult in the first part of qualifying, when twenty riders are trying to show the best time for themselves on a small track. Many people stop in the last corners to let their rivals go and create a free space in front of them for a fast lap, but there is always a chance that someone will get ahead of you at this moment, because in order to start a fast lap well, you need to seriously attack in this area.

      Question: In Spielberg, special attention is paid to observing the boundaries of the highway. How does the team handle this?Pedro de la Rosa: Respecting the boundaries of the track is the task of the team. In free races, drivers must receive all information from the engineer about where they are violating in order to know about it before qualifying, because the FIA does not control compliance with this rule in training.

      Drivers have to drive very precisely, but in modern Formula 1, the cars are so big that it's hard to know if you're staying within the boundaries of the track when you're attacking at full speed. You can feel it, but you will never be 100% sure until the race engineer confirms that you have completed a clean lap.

      In recent years, things have become easier in Spielberg – the curbs have more pronounced borders, marked with blue and white paint to make it easier for riders to navigate. But there are some corners where it is still possible to go beyond the boundaries of the track, so we need to work together to avoid this in qualifying and the race.

      Q: Where is the best place to overtake?Pedro de la Rosa: In the third corner. There, the track goes up a hill and you can slow down very late, and overloads give you a pleasant feeling in the cockpit. The beauty of this turn is that it gives you the opportunity to overtake both on entry and on exit, if you have good grip and accelerate faster than your opponent on the next straight, or on braking before the fourth turn.

      Usually, the defending rider closes the inner radius of the third turn, but then he loses speed at the exit, and therefore, if you keep your cool and come out of the turn wider, you can overtake. That's the beauty of Spielberg — it's a very good racing track.

      Question: Which section of the highway do you like best?Pedro de la Rosa: Turns six and seven are two high–speed left turns following one another. The first turn has a blind entrance and a negative slope, causing understeer, and turning there later you lose a lot of time. At the exit of this turn, you are already attacking in the next one. This is a very interesting area.

      Q: How do you assess the team's form in the last Grand Prix?Pedro de la Rosa: Since we introduced our new products at Imola, we have had at least one car qualify for the finals. Of course, we want more, and the team is doing everything possible to make full use of the AMR25's potential.

      After four races on four different tracks, we can say with confidence that we have improved and now we understand the car much better.