F2 pole-sitter from Round 8 at the Red Bull Ring, Frederik Vesti, has seen a rapid improvement in his overall performance since the start of the season. F1 Feeder Series spoke to the Danish rookie at the Hungaroring, Vesti gave some credit to his teammate Théo Pourchaire for his improvement this season.

By Tyler Foster

After scoring in only three races out of the first ten, Vesti began to see vast improvements primarily in his qualifying pace. This culminated in the ART driver scoring his maiden pole position in Austria. While Vesti failed to capitalise on this, he has scored two Feature Race podiums and a Sprint Race victory.

The progress seen since Monaco has been down to Vesti unlocking the potential of his ART car, with his teammate Théo Pourchaire having won two Feature Races in the opening three rounds. We asked Vesti whether having an accomplished teammate as his reference was helping him to improve as a rookie in Formula 2.

“It’s hugely motivating for me to have Théo [Pourchaire] next to me,” said Vesti. “Obviously, Théo is rated really high from last year and the year before, the achievements he did. I think that was one of the good things for me at the beginning of the year because I could always compare my performance to Théo. This has helped me to push myself forward and bring my pace forward and maintain that.”

Healthy competition

Having that reference is key as a rookie. In contrast, Jack Doohan told us that, “it’s a little bit of a disadvantage when comparing to having a teammate who’s at the same level and comfortable with their package”. While Doohan has shown strong pace this year, there has not been too much progression as he is missing a competitive teammate.

While Vesti is a rookie, he is performing well and sits P8 in the championship currently. He has seen some success recently compared to Pourchaire and held his own in qualifying, having outqualified his rapid teammate in all of the previous four rounds. We asked whether beating Pourchaire was a motivation for him.

“Of course, I want to beat Théo, that’s the first comparison that everyone does. It’s a really good teammate I have and I’m pushing the best I can to beat him.”

While Vesti didn’t keep up his previous form in qualifying at Hungary in a difficult session, he started P7 in the Feature Race on Sunday and P4 in the Sprint Race on Saturday. Coming into the weekend, the Mercedes Junior told us whether he felt any pressure following his recent results.

“I don’t really think there is more pressure than in any other track. Of course, in Budapest it is quite difficult to overtake but at the same time it is not that easy anywhere. Having a good qualifying makes any weekend a lot easier. So, the pressure for me is the same as always.”

Header photo credit: ART Grand Prix