Interview
‘Another step up from where we started’ - Hitech TGR’s Anagnostiadis and Havrda determined to put challenging Shanghai behind them
Hitech TGR’s debut F1 ACADEMY weekend wasn’t what the team was hoping for after Aiva Anagnostiadis and Nicole Havrda dealt with mixed fortunes in Shanghai.
Anagnostiadis avoided the fray in Race 1, emerging unscathed from her battles. Promoted to a point in P8, the TAG Heuer driver couldn’t repeat the feat in Race 2 but was gratified by the progress made even if the results didn’t fully show it.
“It was a challenging weekend, but we got lucky with getting a point,” she admitted. “It was difficult but at least we came away with a point. I think we are slowly as a team understanding the car better and I think we are going into the Jeddah test another step up from where we started at Shanghai.”
Havrda’s maiden weekend delivered an unlucky tale rather than a fairytale ending, as the American Express driver found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time in both races.
Forced to retire following contact from Chloe Chong at the second Safety Car restart in Race 1, Sunday proved no better as Havrda had no room to take avoiding action after Joanne Ciconte was tagged into a spin by Chong on the opening lap.
Refusing to dwell on the missed opportunities, the Canadian has vowed to learn from the experience and hopes that she can call on her strengths from her dual campaign in the Formula Regional Americas Championship.
“I had a very tough time in Shanghai for the two races,” Havrda began. “The rest of the weekend was good, Qualifying was really good. Being in the mix of the field right in the middle was quite difficult, especially getting caught up in two incidents was quite painful. I’m definitely moving forward, I’m not looking back on that.”
She added: “Something I need to work on for Jeddah is getting up to speed quick. I love having that kind of trait and I have that here in the Formula Regional Americas Championship, so I just have to get that in F1 ACADEMY. I know Jeddah is pretty quick, so carrying minimum speed and being on it as well.”