Weug hoping to unlock untapped pace as she aims to deliver a podium at home

Ferrari’s Maya Weug got back in the groove at the start of her Zandvoort weekend, securing a top-five-worthy time in Free Practice 1. Now, she’s optimistic that the changes made over the summer break can translate into a return to the podium.

The last driver to get an initial time on the board with 15 minutes left on the clock, Weug admitted that leaving it late didn’t quite pay off, as a heavy downpour drenched the track just before the chequered flag was flown.

“It feels really good (to be home),” she said. “I think the work we've done during the summer break has shown during FP1. I think the pace was good. Obviously, the conditions were tough with the changing conditions and we went out quite late. It feels good to be on this track, I like it and let’s see how FP2 goes.”

She added: “The problem was that we started a bit late. We thought the track was going to improve. We didn’t expect the rain to fall down for our Free Practice. We waited and then (when) we went out, it was already starting to rain, so the lap times were not great as it was wet in some places on track.

“Overall, the feeling was good where it was dry. Also, the theoretical lap times were quite good, so the sectors overall were good, which means the pace is not too bad.”

Nevertheless, she was able to get within 0.376s of Practice pace-setter Abbi Pulling, with a 1:38.442. A tight session saw only 0.072s separate the PREMA Racing teammates of Doriane Pin in second to Weug in fifth.

Although she didn’t have the chance to put it all together before the track became too slippery for slicks, Weug believes that she had pace left untapped.

“I’m much happier with the balance, with the feeling and with the car this way,” she explained. “So, I would have loved to have some more laps in good conditions to get back to it. Even though I only got two to three pushes with normal conditions, it still felt quite good.”

Round 4 comes after a disappointing time for Weug in Barcelona, with a point-less outing at the Spanish circuit. Opening her account well in Zandvoort, she’s favouring the mixed conditions, having secured two top three times during in-season testing.

READ MORE: PRACTICE 1: Pulling tops the timesheets for Rodin Motorsport in Zandvoort opener

Putting last time out behind her, the Dutch racer is hopeful that a strong performance from the get-go can move her forward on a more positive note.

“It’s important, especially if in FP1 you already have a good feeling with the car. It helps with the confidence and my mental state because Barcelona was really tough. It’s good to already start off on a good foot into the weekend. It’s going to be like this with the wet and the rain probably all weekend, so I’m excited for it.

“I think bits of both is always interesting. If it’s also fully dry, I wouldn’t mind because then it’s a bit easier to make it all happen, but if it’s also wet, I think we can do a good job. We showed in testing here when it was like this that we were fast.”

Buoyed on by the cheers of her home crowd, there’s only one goal on her mind — get back on the podium for the first time since Jeddah and push her way back up the Standings.

“Standing on the podium at my home race is what I want to achieve,” Weug remarked. “I think that would be amazing, especially coming after Barcelona, to boost my confidence and start my second part of the season strong. I think that will be very important.”