GUSTAV MALJA CALM AND COLLECTED AS BUSIEST PART OF THE SEASON BEGINS
Six races in three weeks: Gustav Malja and his FIA Formula 2 Championship rivals are kicking off the most hectic part of the 2017 season this weekend, with a visit to Austria’s picturesque Red Bull Ring set to be followed by races in Great Britain and Hungary before the end of the month.
“It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks, but at the end of the day you always take one race at a time anyway and it doesn’t really matter if there’s one week or one month between them,” says Gustav Malja. “It’s about giving yourself the time needed to prepare, and I feel we’ve got everything well under control for all of these three up-coming events. It’s summer and a lot of racing; there’s no reason to complain!”
Malja arrives at the Red Bull Ring, located in the Styrian mountains some two hours west of Vienna, on the back of a difficult weekend last time out on the streets of Baku (Azerbaijan).
Held back by troubles especially in qualifying, the 21-year-old Racing Engineering Swede did not manage to add to his points account in Formula 1’s main feeder series on the shores of the Caspian Sea, but can look back at a podium finish at the preceding round in Monaco and is hoping to slowly but surely return to that kind of performance.
“We did struggle in Baku, but I still feel very calm and collected, and refreshed for this one in Austria,” Malja continues. “We know that we need to improve our qualifying form, but there’s no point getting stressed about it. We just need to keep working; and we know we’ve got a good car in the races.”
The 4.318 km Red Bull Ring features an interesting blend of long straights, slow hairpins and a series of high-speed corners, making it a popular venue with teams, drivers and fans alike.
“The Red Bull Ring is a great track,” Malja concludes. “I think all the drivers like it. It’ll be great to drive there again and the team had a good weekend there last year (in GP2),winning the sprint race. I also think it’s quite nice to be back to more regular circuits now after a couple of street tracks where, sometimes, it’s more of a lottery.”
F2 running in Austria gets underway with free practice and qualifying on Friday, followed by the feature race on Saturday and the sprint contest on Sunday.
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