DAMS had a challenging FIA Formula 2 Championship weekend at Monza as contact in both races for Sergio Sette Camara and Nicholas Latifi denied the team potential podiums and a valuable opportunity to close the gap in the drivers’ championship.

Sergio Sette Camara: “It’s been a difficult weekend. I made a mistake in the Feature Race and received a time penalty so only scored fifth, there was definitely more on the table. Today I was hit from behind twice, first by Luca Ghiotto at the start and later he caused Nyck de Vries to give me a puncture. This is frustrating because we should have been on the podium. We didn’t get the most out of Monza, but the aim is to score maximum points in Sochi.”

Nicholas Latifi: “This weekend was a good opportunity to take some points out of the drivers’ championship lead as Nyck de Vries was excluded from qualifying. Unfortunately that wasn’t capitalised on. I had a collision on Saturday which lost me my front wing and the result meant I started 13th for the Sprint Race and undid the rest of the event. We need to take the lessons we’ve learned and come back stronger in Sochi.”

The 11th round of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship will take place in Sochi, Russia on 27-29 September.
Photos: Dutch Photo Agency

DAMS took its 10th podium of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 season in the Silverstone Feature Race with Nicholas Latifi, who scored further points in the Sprint Race and closed in on the drivers’ championship lead, while Sergio Sette Camara also added to the tally.

Nicholas Latifi: “Qualifying was a bit frustrating as we had some engine limiter issues that cost us a chance to be further up the grid, possibly fighting for pole. Still, fourth was not a bad place to start. A fun Feature Race with some good battles fighting for the lead, unfortunately we just didn’t have the overall pace to push for it so I was disappointed for myself and the team because I was hoping to bring home a win. We had a good start to the Sprint Race, being quite aggressive as well but I damaged my tyres in the first two laps and from then I was hanging on to the end. It was a very difficult race to manage, so I’m happy to score points but even if we couldn’t move forward more.”

 
Sergio Sette Camara: “It’s not the event we expected. We had the car to fight for pole and in the Feature Race battled for the quickest laps and pace, but we’ve left Silverstone with only 14 points so it’s a shame for the team. I’m not happy with the weekend, we need to make fewer mistakes in Hungary and come back stronger.”

The eighth round of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship will take place in Budapest, Hungary on 2-4 August.
 
Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

Sergio Sette Camara took his first victory of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, while Nicholas Latifi scored vital points to keep DAMS at the top of the teams’ standings.

Sergio Sette Camara: “It was an up and down weekend. It started with a really bad qualifying, it’s still a mystery why we could comfortably take pole position on one track and have no pace on the next. The Feature Race was not a good day for me and the team. We could have had both cars on the podium, but we didn’t extract the potential due to a mistake I made when I touched Nicky and compromised the result of the team, spinning him and getting a penalty. But the reaction was not negative as Nicky and DAMS have forgiven me. The Sprint Race was brilliant, my first win in a long time which brings a breath of fresh air and confidence. We’re in a good position in the championship and it’s positive energy that we need to keep going forward.”

Nicholas Latifi: “The weekend started off not so bad in practice, just two tenths off in fourth. In qualifying we didn’t maximise our potential in sixth. It was really close to the front of the field so maybe I could have done a better lap. There isn’t much to say about the Feature Race, contact ruined the weekend for me. I got spun round and dropped to last, managed to recover to ninth so we definitely had the pace to fight for the podium at least. It also meant I started further back for the Sprint Race and there isn’t much you can do with the quick guys in front of you.”

The seventh round of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship will take place at Silverstone, Great Britain on 12-14 July.
 
Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

Sergio Sette Camara took pole position and scored a second-place in the Feature Race for DAMS’ home FIA Formula 2 Championship event at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France. Nicholas Latifi scored crucial points to help extend the lead in the team’s standings.

Sergio Sette Camara: “It’s been a strong weekend at Paul Ricard. We got our first pole position of the season, which is good for confidence. The team gave me a nice car. I struggled a bit at the start of the Feature Race, which is something I still have issues with but we are doing everything to improve. We’re slightly getting better and better, still need to confirm it in future rounds but it’s a feeling I have. A big thank you to the team for always being professional and working hard, it looks like we’re going in the right direction.”

Nicholas Latifi: “Not the best weekend for me unfortunately. In qualifying we were a bit unlucky not being able to set a lap on the second set of tyres but it could have been much worse than sixth. I was confident I’d be able to move forward because our race pace is always good, but this is the first time this season where I just didn’t have the speed and struggled to make up places. We still scored some important points for the championship and we aim to come back strong at the Red Bull Ring.”

The sixth round of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship will take place in Spielberg, Austria on 28-30 June.
 
Photo: Dutch Photo Agency