Welcome FV fans to the grid for what could be a historical day in the championship, here at the Mexican V-Prix. From FVTV, I'm Neil Allenby and as per usual I'll be doing the grid walk. The weather looks fairly nice, we've got a mixture of tyre strategies and hopefully a cracking race in store for us. Up front, it's the two Downtons, with Nathaniel Powers ahead of Klaas van Snelheid, and Enrique Ruiz just behind. We'll start now, I'm a bit late so might have to be quick with this. As you can see there's a lot of FVA officials here, since we could be crowning our champions today. There's the man who can do it, Powers, who looks like he's just relaxing at the moment, let's talk to our pole sitter for today.
What an incredible lap yesterday Nathaniel, a dominant pole position. How did you feel during that lap, and where was it that you were so much faster than your rivals? Cheers, I just felt proper hooked up all session - the car was practically on rails. It wasn't a perfect lap, but it was pretty damn good. I think I was able to gain the most time through the fast flowing stuff in sector two, I just had so much confidence in the car, but I was quicker throughout the lap so everywhere essentially. The team have split tyre choices between the drivers, you've gone for the softer option compared to KVS. What's your plan for the start, sprint away from your teammate? Yep, that's the aim. Sprint away, build a gap! Thanks Nathaniel, and good luck for today! I'm just going past the Mathershaws and Ruiz looks like he's very busy - very important race for him if he wants to defend his title. Let's continue on, great to see a Lopez back up in the top 10, Elroy Wagner in 7th, and Marcus Thunder with another great session in 10th. We've also got the two Phoenix cars right in the mix, and speaking of them I've just seen their new team principal... Christian, welcome to Formula Virtual! It's great to have you here in the sport. How has it been taking over the running of Phoenix from Alex for the last few races? Hi thanks it’s great to be here. Erm I was asked a similar question in a media session a few weeks ago and I was saying how that’s the big difference with all the media attention. I’m still not used to you guys wanting to talk to me all the time but you’re not so bad I guess! But no the actual running of the team has gone quite smoothly so far, we’ve just stuck to what we know really. Both drivers have qualified in strong positions here, after some good races. How has the morale been in the team, especially with the constructors battle for 7th? Yep, both of the guys did a fantastic job yesterday. Thierry’s side of the garage needed it I think because of the bad luck he’s been having even in practice here, but obviously the whole team was fairly ecstatic. We have a fairly happy-go-lucky attitude though and take it all as it comes, so yeah we have objectives and always want to challenge for a higher place in the standings but, come what may at the end of the season, the year has been a great one! Thanks Christian, I'll catch up with you after the race. Quite a busy grid today, it's difficult to find anyone free for a quick chat. I just saw Douglas Bacon back there but he's talking to NBC so can't ask him. Should mention as we pass by his car, another fantastic Q1 lap from Gani Ledesma, great to see him qualify again for a race. We've also got Yakumi Takahashi alongside, and I see his teammate is on the grid as well, let's have a chat with him. Quick word for the grid walk Lewis? Unfortunately you didn't qualify for the race but your teammate got through. Do you feel like you have struggled in quali this year compared to Takahashi? Yeah, thanks... ermmm I suppose you could say that qualifying hasn't been my strong suit this year, I've had some races stronger than others but this car seems to lack the last bit of pace that is needed to be turned on in quali. Arrow has been the 7th team you've raced for, how has their approach differed to the others you've raced for? Or is there any team you found them similar to? Arrow of course have been kind enough to offer me this seat after my spell at Meteor at the start of the season, I think I made the right decision in that. As for how they work? Not so sure, its almost Meteor-Like in the way the team composes itself, doesn't get too excited over the little details and focuses on those big gains from race to race. I wish them the best of luck next season... assuming I don't get an extension here. And of course, ol' Yaka Taka has been a great new lease of life for the team and myself, letting me see the passion the rookies are bringing into the sport, and as for on track pace, I think he's shown you he can beat me comprehensively on my day, I'm excited for him. Cheers Lewis... must say, he was more pleasant then I expected! While I'm at the back here I'll see if I can find someone else. Zvironas is talking to his race engineer, watch for him making his way through the field on his extras. We've also got the Franklin cars further back then expected, if you look a bit further up you'll see Davenport's Lucas. Ah, just seen someone who I haven't talked to in a long time, give me a moment. Hello Felicia [Quinn, Franklin technical director], nice to see you on the grid. It's been a strong season for Franklin given how late they rejoined, how have you managed to develop the car so quickly? I don't know if strong is the right word, but I think people forget the depth of talent and experience we have in this team. Thankfully, we've gone in a positive direction the whole year and not really had any blips or dead ends in terms of our design philosophy, which has helped no end. It's one of those things that snowballs really, we've been able to develop well, which has given us more track time by not falling in Q1, which has given us more data to develop further. Your drivers start further down the grid then you probably would have liked. Do you think they'll be able to pull off overtakes or is this track too tight? Yeah, it's a bit of an odd one, we certainly didn't expect to be this far down, but both guys are hungry to perform and I think the car is quicker than quali has shown. There's definitely ample opportunity into turn 1 as seen in previous years, so we'll just have to see how it goes! Thanks Felicia, I think Jamie is calling you now so see you later. Really pushing the time limit now, hoping to catch one more person. Most have made their way to the front for the national anthem, but maybe if I could talk to a fa- hey, that's a familiar face! Alex, great to see you back again! How has your time away been? And how does it feel to be back on the Formula Virtual grid more as a fan rather then a team principal, does it feel more relaxing? Great to see you again Neil, it's fantastic to be back on the grid again, even just for this race and Brazil. It's been incredibly busy for me the last few months but it's been fantastic doing something that I love - almost as much as Formula Virtual! Christian and the rest of the team have been doing an excellent job, somehow hanging on to the coattails of the likes of Westwood and Ocelot, but more importantly keeping the team working as it always has and big smiles on everyone's faces. But yeah to be back amongst everyone is utterly brilliant, being down here amongst all the drivers and teams, hearing the chorus of engine notes as they all make their way around to the grid, it's just a great feeling. I didn't want to interfere with the running of the team so I've managed to get myself into the very fancy Lucas V.I.P. area to watch the race today, which I'm very much looking forward to. I'm sure it'll be a cracker! Thanks Alex, just got the word in my ear that my time is up, so with that thank for tuning in for the grid walk, we'll have the national anthem now and I'll hand you over to Bradley and Lilly.
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