Sergey Afanasiev is looking forward to the forthcoming rounds of the 2010 FIA Formula Two Championship after a brace of points finishes during the season opening rounds at Silverstone.
The Silverstone round saw the Russian star record a podium finish during the opening race which he backed up with a sixth in race two.
Back home in Russia, Afanasiev was asked whether he could be on the pace at Silverstone and he said: “In Russia they asked me whether I would be able to show my potential straight away, and I said ‘No: first we have Silverstone, where I have never been and for sure the English guys will be really fast, and then we have Marrakech and Monza, where anything can happen. To be honest though I have a made a good start, and now I just need to continue in this way and everything will look good at the end of the season.”
With the F2 series first visit to the African street circuit just round the corner, Afanasiev reckons that it won't just be raw speed which will be the deciding factors – drivers will need to be consistent and careful round the demanding track.
“Nobody has been to Marrakech before, so it’s hard to predict what will happen,” Afanasiev said. “I have raced at Pau and on Russian street circuits, and the fastest person will be whoever has the most balls and likes to take risks – but in this case you don’t know if they will finish or not, you don’t know what could happen. You have to be fast but also careful – for sure it is tricky, but I’m excited and I’ll be looking to pick up points again.”
The experience that the Russian has on street circuits could prove invaluable as he looks to build on his Silverstone results in Africa: “It was a good result for me at Silverstone, on the first weekend, on a circuit I had never been to before, I was more than happy with third in the first race and glad with sixth in race two.
“Actually in race two I had a very exciting first lap, and after a good start from the middle of the grid I tried to pass (Will) Bratt on the outside of Stowe, in the same way Eng tried to pass me in race one. It didn’t work at all, but the problem was I decided to push the boost button a little late and by then it was already too late. If I did it a little earlier it would have been enough to pass Bratt, and then I could have been even higher in the race.”
The FIA Formula Two Championship supports the FIA World Touring Car Championship this weekend, the 30 April to the 2 May.
