Interview
Chambers looking to unlock untapped potential in Shanghai Qualifying
Chloe Chambers got her 2025 campaign off to a positive start, securing a top-three time around the Shanghai International Circuit in Free Practice.
The Red Bull Ford driver was late to getting her first time on the board, as she was one of four drivers not to set a time before the Red Flag. Quickly getting up to speed, Chambers ended up 0.252s down on pace-setter Pin by the chequered flag.
Reflecting on the session, Chambers was left satisfied with her performance but believes that the stop-start nature of the Practice means there’s still time to find.
“Overall, I'm pretty happy with the pace,” she explained. “Of course, P3 is still two positions behind P1, but I think we had pretty good pace for the most part. It was a little bit messy with the Red Flag and then with some of the traffic after the Red Flag, with everybody going out at the same time.
“With the laps that we got during that session and where I was track position-wise, I think it was a pretty decent run. So, I'm hoping for more in Qualifying, but I think I feel confident that we can get it done.”
With three days of running in pre-season testing under her belt, Chambers was already well acquainted with the Chinese track. However, the conditions that have greeted her are much changed from earlier in the month.
Cold weather has given way to sunshine, whilst Formula 1 also running presents the F1 ACADEMY drivers with an ever-evolving track — something which plays to Chambers’ strengths.
READ MORE: PRACTICE: Pin makes fast start in Shanghai opener
“My main point of improvement has been my adaptability to different conditions,” she noted. In the first session in Practice this weekend, the track is quite different from last time I drove it after three days of us running on the track.
“Overall, just being able to adapt a bit more to the track conditions has been my biggest area of improvement. It was good to see that I was able to get the most out of the car in the conditions that we had and in the short time that we had as well. So, I think that'll come in handy for Qualifying.”
Casting her mind forward to Qualifying, Chambers says she has to be on it from the get-go. Factoring in their two sets of tyres and the potential for tight margins on the timing sheets, the Red Bull Ford driver believes it’ll come down to who can put all their personal bests together across one lap.
“It all just comes down to getting that one lap put together,” said Chambers. "You might not be the quickest in all the sectors, but if you get your fastest sectors in that one lap, that's all you need really to move up a few positions.
“I think that's really what everybody else is going for because you only have so much running on the tyres before they start dropping. We have two sets, so you're going to have to make it work quick so and making it work within the window that you have is the key in Qualifying here.”
She added: “I'm feeling pretty confident heading into Qualifying I feel like the pace that we've had during testing in different running conditions, new tyres, old tyres, all that has been really nice.
“Then in Practice today, P3 with not even my ideal lap. That was good to see, so it gives me a bit of confidence for Qualifying. Of course, different track conditions after F1. I think that it’ll be quite a different track from what we had in Practice but that’s where the second year drivers have a little bit of the edge and the Wild Card too, knowing how much the track evolves after Formula 1’s run on it.”