Naël impresses in his first qualifications: “It’s a bit unexpected”

Seeing Rafael Câmara (Trident) take pole position was almost a confirmation. It must be said that the 2024 FRECA champion was expected to fight for the top positions, and he certainly delivered. However, no one really expected Théophile Naël (VAR) to play a leading role. Not even the main player concerned.

« It's a little unexpected for us., he slipped after signing the third time. This is my first race weekend in F3I was discovering the change in grip from practice to qualifying. But we are still satisfied with our speed. There is still a long way to go. »

Arriving in Australia in the most unknown of conditions, the Frenchman made a successful start, especially the transition between free practice and qualifying. This is where some drivers sometimes falter and fail to capitalize. The positive feelings from the first laps at Albert Park allowed him to attack his first qualifying session with confidence.

« I am extremely happy, the team did a very good job, he adds. In free practice, the pace we had was good, even though I didn't manage to have a really clean lap. Despite everything, we stayed focused for qualifying and it worked very well. »

There's no reason to claim victory, however, for Théophile Naël, who is aware that the weekend is still very long. Indeed, he has two races to negotiate (Sprint Saturday 1h15 and Main Saturday 23h00) while the field doesn't really know the performance of medium tires over the long term since no one was able to use them during the pre-season tests in Barcelona in February.

« There is still a lot to learn with this car, especially in terms of race pace., admits the VAR pilot. We haven't had the chance to work it with medium tires. It will be a total discovery tomorrow. (Saturday, during the Sprint Race) while we should have rain on Sunday. We'll see... We'll continue to work, to learn how the car works... We're expecting a hard day tomorrow (SATURDAY). »

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