Pace for pole but setup limited after Monaco crash - Jack Doohan qualifies third in Spain

Third in Formula 2 qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, Jack Doohan says he has more pace to deliver while his team works to find the optimal setup after his crash in Monaco.

Jack Doohan was confident after qualifying third for the Formula 2 weekend in Spain. (Rudy Carezzevoli / Formula Motorsport Limited / Getty Images)

Doohan was one of the fastest drivers in the final set of flying laps for the FIA Formula 2 weekend but was bested by Ollie Bearman in the final minutes of the session.

“It was really good in the first run to be honest, and I would have liked to actually go in the gap straightaway,” said Doohan, reflecting on the strategy of his rivals at PREMA Racing which gave Bearman pole.

“But due to something not being exactly right after my little excursion in Monaco, that really put us off a little bit and put our strategy a little bit out of play.”

Doohan was running in the lead pack in Monaco before damaging his front wing in the Swimming Pool chicane, the component later failing and sending him into the wall at Massenet. It was an unfortunate end to his weekend, with the Invicta Virtuosi driver showing positive signs of improvement coming out of the in-season test.

“That was on me. That was difficult to take.”

“But, taking the positives forward from the weekend was that I finally had something underneath me that I could deliver with and really be back to where I know I could be.”

“So that was positive and coming into here, we had a great test here obviously with the car back together and I knew that we were going to be in a great position for today.”

Less than a week after Monaco, Doohan says the team is working to minimise risk, while his task to is focus on the factors within his control.

“Because I haven't really been able to really maximise any performance, I wasn't really in a position to take a little bit of risk and for it not to pay off because of something that's out of my control,” said the Australian.

“So I had to just stick to the basics and the car felt good in the first run.”

“I wanted to continue that for the second run, but unfortunately, with the bit of track evolution and a bit of cloud cover… and with the track temp just dropping on me a couple of degrees, unfortunately the last sector just wasn't the same as the first run. I was trying to repeat that, if not take a little bit more, and I lost quite a lot of time the last few corners compared to that first run.”

Doohan says the team is still finding the optimal setup after his crash in Monaco. (Joe Portlock / Formula Motorsport Limited / Getty Images)

Most teams sent their drivers out immediately in the session with a plan to return for a flying lap in the final ten minutes, while PREMA sent out their drivers in the gap between the two.

Doohan said that had been the plan for Virtuosi, but with the team finding setup difficult after the Monaco crash, and the gap on track evaporating as more teams went out, the initial strategy was compromised.

“[It] put us a little bit out of sync but in the end, I think we had really good track position and were the last crossing the line,” said Doohan.

“So if you take track evolution into the equation, we had the best possible position but unfortunately just didn't come together and with such small margins, we’re P3.

“No ifs buts or maybes, pole was there, and the potential was very, very up there.”

“Unfortunately, we’re P3 but still, not a bad spot for the two races.”

Doohan will start the reverse-grid sprint race from eighth at 10.15pm on Saturday (AEST) before lining up in third for the feature race at 7.25pm on Sunday.

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