'It’s very close out there' – Pulling insists there’s work to do as she prepares for ‘unpredictable’ Qualifying

On paper, Abbi Pulling couldn’t have gotten her Zandvoort weekend off to a better start, topping the timesheets in both Free Practice sessions, but the Alpine driver believes there’s still work to do ahead of Qualifying.

Finishing three tenths clear in FP1, Friday afternoon’s running saw her narrowly pip Ferrari’s Maya Weug by a tenth after two late flying laps in the very last moments of FP2. Whilst the speed was there, Pulling admitted that she and her Rodin Motorsport team had to reassess their situation mid-session and take a step back in order to move forward.

“This morning, I was a bit disappointed with my lap,” she noted. “I think there was a bit more time in it, probably everyone came out of FP1 saying that. I wanted to make sure I maximised FP2.

“It felt good, we played around with a few things on the car and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't setting the world alight. It wasn’t gelling with it 100%, so we reverted back to what we were doing in the session before and then, I improved again on the older tyre. Then we put the new (tyres) on — albeit we were a bit out of sync because you want to make sure the change is okay.

“My warm-up was a bit jeopardised and I think I only did two or three push laps, which is a bit less than the rest. With that in account, I’m quite happy with the session (…) There’s maybe room for a bit more performance in some areas, but I also need to make sure that I do the job because it’s very close out there and I need to make sure I get the lap in.”

Posting two purple sectors on her way to setting a 1:36.367 in FP2, Pulling acknowledged that her yellow Sector 2 held her back after her run plan didn’t align with those around her.

“That’s a bit of where we struggled because we were out of sync, we couldn’t maximise the warm-up,” she explained. “We think we know where the performance is in that sector, but we’ll see tomorrow. Tomorrow could be wet, so we never know. It’s Zandvoort, it’s pretty close to the British weather here, it’s unpredictable.

“I love this track and the team are doing a great job, always trying things, which is great. (They’re) taking a step back, seeing the bigger picture and being as prepared as we can for whatever’s thrown at us.”

With a 50% chance of rain for Qualifying on Saturday morning, the conditions could go either way and Pulling believes that being in tune with the car underneath her will be vital to dealing with whatever the weather throws at her.

“At the end of the day, I see it that the conditions are the same for anyone out on track,” the Briton said. “I don’t worry too much about that. I just focus on getting on it, doing the job and driving to the grip that I feel. I think it’s very important to feel like you’re getting the most out of the car.

READ MORE: PRACTICE 2: Pulling leaves it late to go fastest in Zandvoort

“To be honest, I don’t mind what it does — it can be wet, it can be dry. It’ll be exciting, especially for the viewers to get a wet session. We had wet in-season testing, but no wet running this weekend, so I think it will make it that much more exciting and might change the order around a bit.”

Whilst Pulling might be one of the favourites to seal her fifth pole of the 2024 campaign, she knows that Friday pace doesn’t automatically translate into Saturday success. However, she’s leaving nothing to chance and is sticking with the approach that has delivered thus far.

Asked about her targets for Qualifying, she replied: “I just want to come out of it knowing that I’ve put everything on the line and I’ve done the best I can, same as every weekend. I’m not going into it with too many expectations. Of course, it’s great to be fast today, but tomorrow is a different day and you don’t know what’ll be thrown at you. I’m confident that the team will do their best and that I’ll do everything I can do.”