Chasing The Dream: Heating Up | Behind The Scenes F2 | 2024 Qatar Grand Prix

How do you feel it on? It just goes on, yeah. This is an actual race car. Stay still. This is the result. It's a bit windy. Yeah. Long break, long break. Long circuit? No, I think it's quite average, no? It's 5.4 kilometers, I think. It's very high speed though, so... It will fly by quite quick. I think once we drive it... It will go by quite quick, not many straights. Except for this main one, so... It will be cool. Very windy. Look at Paul's hair. One hair, one hair. No, it's all good. Nice track. Racing line. Racing line, racing line. Yeah, you're taking out my focus, man. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Come on, come on. Now I feel bad. Sorry, sorry. Eager to drive. It's been a while, so... Really excited. Last one. Obviously off to Formula E after this weekend. Trying to finish off on a high. Give the team a good result. And then... Yeah, off to electric. I've shown what I needed to show in F2. Of course, that allowed me to get an opportunity... In a professional team in Formula E. And then... In the future, nothing's ever over for F1. Looks good, right? Suprise for the camera? Hey, partner. How are you? All good. Very good suit. It's good, man. It's new. No, it's the same. Try it on. Next year I will change it. Okay, best of luck, Paul. Here we go. It's almost... He's made it right to the front. Epic stuff. It's just the stash I'm more used to. I'm sure we'd be a team solo. F1 driver. Give me a cuddle. F1 driver. Yeah, because our generation is very strong. Imagine... I mean... The camera is recording, so I cannot say everything. Not really, because I packed for hot weather. I know. And I'm freezing, so... Yeah, so good to be back. Two months not driving, so I'm excited to drive again tomorrow. To have a taste again of how is it driving to an F2 car. But yeah, very happy to be in the position we are. Also happy to have, let's say, my future already decided. Obviously, this takes a bit of expectations, rumors, pressure and everything out. So I can, you know, just have fun in these last two rounds. I'm gonna take the same approach as I did in the last rounds. You know, when I was chasing him, I was just focusing on mine. And that's the moment I realized I was doing the best, was when I was not looking at anyone else. Obviously, he's my main rival right now. So we're gonna be looking at what he does. But not focusing on copying or doing something similar just because he's doing it. I like to be in this position. To be fair, I wouldn't say... I don't feel like it's hard, you know. It's what I'm waking up for every day, you know. It's fight for something, I guess. So yeah, it's great to be in the title again. Last time I was in a championship fight was two years ago in F3. But this time I'm trying to make it successful. So yeah, I like being in the fight. It's great. I've been scoreless the last two rounds. My whole focus is on how to get back on top on Sunday. Trying to claim pole position tomorrow. And then from there, take the lead back and fight into Abu Dhabi. Paul-Aaron, here we are. What have you been up to for the past few months? I think every guy who stood here said it's been a very long break. Obviously, two and a half months. I really thought it through what I would do during this break because I didn't want it to be two and a half months. I get to the track and I realize that I did nothing, basically. So I put a plan in place. I read some books about psychology, trained, ate healthy, lost a bit of weight, which is always a good thing for racing. And now that we're back, I'm obviously super happy, very excited. Coming to Qatar for the first time for the drivers and for the teams I think will be a great new challenge. What are you doing there, Rory? Are you just being healthy for the camera? No, I'm going to take a cake. I don't care that the camera is here. Balance. Bit of fruit, bit of cake. Balance. I will be out for the first time with the new team. The car felt quite different, but it can, of course, also be the track. So I'm excited for quality. Hello again, everyone. This is Formula 2 qualifying from Laseo Circuit in Qatar. We've reached the important stage of the season. There are four and a half points in the battle to be crowned champion of Formula 2. We're doing all of this filming, happiness, pole position, blah, blah. I've done this three times already before and still not won a race. I don't know anymore if to enjoy this moment or not. This is like, you know, behind-the-scenes stuff. This is the best stuff. But it was for the guests, not for me. I need to know. Come on, Andy. I was on the verge of crying because the session was just so nice, especially this qualifying under the lights. Today we arrived, did the first lap. I knew we had done a good preparation and it was in the right direction. And yeah, because of that, a massive, massive thank you to the guys, all the boys at Hitec and obviously all the girls as well. Because it just makes our life as drivers so much easier when the car is so good. Honestly, the car was on rails. So if I didn't put it on pole, it would have been a disgrace. This is it for me, but then there's your next driver for next year. You want him to help you to win races for you next year? There was quite the important news that was released this morning, revealing that you will be Alpine's reserve driver for 2025. How are you feeling right now? Yeah, very excited. Obviously, coming from yesterday, the emotions were high anyway because we did the pole position and it was a great day for me and the team. But yeah, getting the news today morning that obviously I will be joining Alpine next year as a reserve driver is a big step in the right direction. In the end, the reason why I'm here, why I'm racing in Formula 2 is to have the opportunity to race in Formula 1 one day. And even though I don't have the seat yet, the reserve role is the closest thing I can get to it. And I think it's a very good opportunity for me to learn and get familiar with Formula 1 and the level that is there in the paddock across the track. And yeah, I'm very excited and looking forward to the opportunity. It's been probably the most amazing season we've had in F2 since the beginning of F2 and probably one of the best we had even since the beginning of GP2. The level of the grid has been amazing, the racing has been absolutely fantastic and I think the testament of this season will be that the preparation of our drivers to go to Formula 1 is second to none. It's getting to a stage where it gets very close to F1 now. You know, F2 is the step just beneath Formula 1 and it's crazy to be in this circus now after so many years in this sport. Now is the time that we start speaking about it, which is actually surreal. Racing again with my best mates here in Formula 2 because I have raced them all my life since karting. But also to be in this circuit, be in this mix, let's say, and do a good job in qualifying, it's an extra good feeling after a very tough year in Formula 3. Round he goes into the gravel, having lost the race lead. A massive moment in the championship battle. Come on! This is my boy! Good job, I love you guys. Hard as I could talk, I thank him. I was really hungry for that victory because I really owe it to the team for the hard work that they've put in over the years. When I finished the race in Kurslap Line and I saw everyone leaning over the pit wall and realising that this is one of the last moments I'm going to share with Prema, when I realised that this is maybe coming to the end of my victories with Prema, I really wanted to make the most of that moment. I've been growing my mustache out for November. I made a bet with my mechanics before the race. If I won, I was going to keep it and all my mechanics were going to do the same. But obviously I didn't win now. Wait, you forgot the middle! We're about to go racing with the Team and Driver Championships wide open. And the driver in P2 spent so much of yesterday's sprint race staring at the back of the Estonian driver. Can he get the launch on a day where he hopes to extend his championship lead? Gabriel Bortoletto, a dream getaway and first place in the race. Antonelli into the gravel trap to bring out the yellow flag. Timing for Bortoletto, really unfortunate. The Bollard is considered the pick. We've got a full safety car which changes everything and that'll be galling for Bortoletto. He crosses the line first. Paul Aaron will take the win when the penalty is applied. And Isaac Hatcher will outscore his championship rival. And there's half a point in the Drivers' Championship. What an extraordinary scenario. Finally, Paul Aaron can call himself a winner. Somebody separate these two young talents. And what misfortune for Bortoletto. Come on! Yes! Yes! Yes, we got him! Aaron is our 17th different winner of the year. You've got to feel for him there because he did everything right in that race. Barring what I think was a really unfortunate call. It was amazing. I think I don't need to say much. I think all the people watching the series this year know that it is really finally a win. There was definitely more pressure on my shoulders. There's a lot that went wrong this year. But at the same time, we've shown incredible pace. I have the most poles. I think I have the most podiums. I think on average I'm the best qualifier. The stats are on my side. It's just too many mistakes, too many things going wrong. And that's why we're in this position. Being within a point of the leader and bringing the fight to a track I really enjoy as well. Where I feel the team is really confident too. It's just so exciting. It's been one of the perfect weekends, I would say. But at the same time, it was not easy to manage. I did a lot of work this weekend to calm down myself. And I'm very happy that it all paid off now.