Going into this weekend 51 points off the championship lead, many would think Alexander Rossi would be throwing in the towel.
Yet the Fortec Motorsports driver remains adamant his title challenge is very much alive after qualifying 2nd for the first round of Formula Renault 3.5 this weekend at Silverstone.
The American, who sits fourth in the standings with 101 points, qualified on the front row with a time of 1:45.016, +0.395 seconds down on pole sitter Robert Wickens.
And Rossi acknowledges that for him to stay in contention for the title, he must beat his fellow North American.
He said: “The car was great and I am very comfortable on this track after I had good results here last year.
“As a driver you’re always trying to get pole but starting on the front row is the next best thing. I have to take my hat off to Robert as it was a pretty special lap, some four tenths quicker than me.
“However, our strong point this year is definitely our race pace. We completed a lot of testing in first and second practice and we got some very positive results so I am quite excited about it.”
Rossi is also no stranger to the historic Silverstone race track; he finished 5th and 2nd in GP3 last season.
As a keen enthusiast of the Northamptonshire circuit, the 19 year old believes his previous experiences here could give him a decisive edge.
“I think it is very important, especially in sector one because from Turn 2 to Turn 6 it’s all in a sequence.
“If you get Turn 2 a bit wrong, such as carrying a too much speed, then Turn 6 is wrong which leads all the way on to the straight so you really have to learn to be patient in the first two or three corners and then focus on the exit.
“It is good fun and is very flowing as you can get into a nice rhythm, which is why I compared it to Spa as the circuit in general is very high speed.
“Based on last year, they have ironed out a couple of massive bumps that were causing a lot of problems and it really is one of my favourite circuits now.
“It is one of the few circuits out there that is still very challenging in the sense that it rewards precision.
“If you make a mistake it is going to be a big one, whereas some of the newer tracks have so much run off area meaning you can push quite hard and if you make a mistake you just run a bit wide and you carry on.
“The circuit rewards confidence more than anything else and I think that is missing from some of the newer racetracks. The classic ones Silverstone, Spa and Monza are incredible.
The young American has savoured plenty of highs in Formula Renault 3.5 as well as enduring several lows and it is a testament to his ability as a driver that he remains in contention for the championship with three rounds to go.
In Rossi’s eyes it is still all to play for and with rain potentially on the horizon, this afternoon’s race could signal a late-season resurgence.
He said: “My season started very well but from Monaco through to the Nurburgring we had three DNFs in a row. Some of that was due to unfortunate circumstances but that is part of motor racing.
“We are still very much in the championship and my goal is still to win it. There are a lot of points up for grabs and today’s result is definitely a good start to our comeback in the latter half of the season.
“It is not going to be easy. Carlin have done a fantastic job all year and having raced against Robert for a lot of years now, I know he’s not a driver who is going to make mistakes, so we just have to keep pushing and do the best that we can.
“The rain is a bridge we will cross when we get there and we have a baseline rain set up that we will go to.
“I would prefer it to stay dry but I think it is the same for everybody so you just have to think a bit more and focus on staying on track and wait for the others to make mistakes instead of trying to win it into the first corner.
“If other people start to fall back a bit then we’ll look to take advantage of that.”
Josh.
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