Interview
Edgar dreaming of podium return in Qatar after 2024 campaign disappointments
Jessica Edgar’s sophomore F1 ACADEMY season hasn’t panned out the way she would have hoped, but the American Express driver is looking to rediscover her late-2023 form and return to the top step before the end of the campaign.
Off the back of sealing her maiden victory at the Austin season-finale, Edgar’s campaign initially started with promising form as she secured a fourth-place result in Jeddah Race 2.
Since then, the Briton has struggled to match that performance, collecting two further top-10 finishes before a five-race point-less streak dropped her to 10th in the Standings, tied on 22 points with Aurelia Nobels.
Turning her attentions to the penultimate round in Qatar, Edgar says her quest to bring home silverware will rest on her Qualifying pace on Saturday morning.
“I’m excited to race here in Qatar,” said Edgar. “We’ve tested here and it’s a good track with lots of fast-flowing corners. In the races, it’s going to be hard to follow.
“You’ll need to qualify in the top few to have a chance of fighting for podiums because it’s going to be so hard to follow, but I think it’s going to be a good weekend and I’m looking forward to racing here.”
Having three days of testing around the Lusail International Circuit already under her belt has bolstered Edgar’s confidence and given her a chance to iron out any issues after a frustrating showing in Singapore.
Unable to run due to a damaged rear wing sustained early on in the only Free Practice session, this left the Rodin Motorsport driver racing at the tail end of the field throughout the weekend.
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When asked how she’d found the circuit during testing, Edgar replied: “Medium-speed corners suit me better. I’ve been struggling a little bit with the high-speed corners at the test, but hopefully we can sort that out and when we come back for the race, I’ll have fixed all the issues.
“Singapore for me was really tough because it was like going in blind with 30 minutes of Practice. Unfortunately, I crashed two laps in, so that meant I didn’t get any time on the track. I’d never been there before and I didn’t know it.
“Whereas here, having three test days gives you the opportunity to build up to it and to test lots of setups that we think could work rather than doing Free Practice and going into Qualifying having no idea what setup you really need to be on. So, I think the three days of testing is definitely very valuable to everyone.”
Despite her previous mileage, Edgar believes there are still some unknowns — with Saturday’s late-night race and track evolution posing the biggest uncertainties.
“We’ve been testing in the day and the track has been very dusty and slippery,” she recalled. “Whereas when we’re here with F1, we race at night, so it’s going to be very cold compared to then.
“The F1 rubber will be down and the track will be clean, so I think it’s going to be very different. We just have to keep in mind that it’s going to be a lot grippier and colder.”
Edgar added: “We have two Free Practice sessions, so I think whoever adapts quickest does usually get on better because the more F1 rubber that goes down, the quicker it gets. With two FP sessions, I think everyone will catch up with each other.”
Lusail kicks off Edgar’s final four races in F1 ACADEMY. Although she’s endured some disappointments across the year, she’s adamant that silverware can be on the cards this weekend.
“For the last two rounds in F1 ACADEMY, I would like to do the best I can,” she concluded. “Hopefully get a couple of podiums and I’m aiming for a win, but this year hasn’t been how we would have liked it to have gone, so I think just doing the best I can is good enough.”