Round 6 post-Feature Race thoughts from the top three

FIA Formula 3: Luke Browning a lights-to-flag victory here in Austria, but it doesn't tell the whole story because it seemed like a really long race, under constant pressure from Dino and Gabriele. How was it in the car?

Luke Browning: To be truthful, one of the toughest races, especially tyre management-wise. We really had to be careful in the early laps, we just weren't sure where everyone was going to come in the last five. I think the guys around me did a great job too, I think it's difficult to manage in the dirty air, but we made the most of the track position we had from Qualifying, and I am super happy and grateful to Hitech for the car today.

FIA Formula 3: You had to control and make sure you kept everybody behind, but it looked like the tyre degradation was still quite high on your car. Could you feel it? Were you worried about that?

Browning: I mean I saved a lot in the early laps, I mean I couldn't have saved anymore. I really tried my best with the pressure I had from Dino behind, but I knew that we are smart drivers in our second year, we know not to push on too early and that served us well in the end and I think that's the reason we were able to stay there.

FIA Formula 3: How much was it a relief to see the two PREMA boys fighting for second position behind you?

Browning: It was the signal I needed to push at the end and then I was just hoping that I had the tyre there to continue it and luckily, we did. I think everyone drove pretty clean today and I think the track limits side of stuff is a lot better too. A big thanks to Spielberg and the event, it's been super enjoyable.

FIA Formula 3: Pole Position, victory in the Feature Race, back at the top of the Standings, this is the best way to go to your home event next weekend in Silverstone.

Browning: Exactly. My home event, Williams' home event, and I've got a bit of redemption from last year having made a mistake on my Qualifying lap that I think would have been a good result for my first year there. This year I've got my eyes on Pole Position.

FIA Formula 3: Good job today. Gabriele Minì, P2 in today's Feature Race here at the Red Bull Ring and it was a tough battle out there. How was it from the car?

Minì: Of course it's good to be back on the podium after the Barcelona weekend. It was a really tough race, of course with tyre management it's never too easy, especially for me as I went back to P4 at the start, lost a place to Dino. I had to overtake so I had to push a bit more than what I wanted to on my tyres in the early laps, but in the end, we stabilised the situation quite well, caught back up with Dino, stayed in the DRS, tried to save as much possible in every single corner, and in the last laps in the end it paid off. I think me and Luke were quite similar pace, maybe he was a bit stronger since he has driven in clean air the whole race, but we had the advantage of the DRS so that helped us keep up. In the end when we started fighting with Dino, we lost Luke a bit so it was really complicated to stay there. But I think I pulled off some good overtakes, some good fights, clean but hard and in the end managed to come back home with P2.

FIA Formula 3: How important is it at this point of the season to be back on the podium and getting those big points during the Feature Race?

Minì: I think whether it's at the beginning or the end of the season it's equal the points you get for being on the podium. Of course, this moment of the Championship where you have so many weekends in a row is crucial because you know more or less what the situation is before going to Monza at the last round. It's really crucial to be on the podium in these last events, the events before the break. So, we've got to keep working hard, keep pushing so that we can manage that.

FIA Formula 3: How confident are you that you can repeat such a result or even better in Silverstone next week?

Minì: I mean till now of course we have been quite strong. So, if we keep working the way we have since the beginning of the season and we keep pushing, I don't see the reason why we couldn't achieve more good results. I trust in the team, I think we have always had good pace, so we just need to keep pushing.

FIA Formula 3: Thank you very much, good job today. Dino Beganovic third in today's Feature Race at the Red Bull Ring from fifth on the grid. At one point you looked in a position to challenge for the win, how was it from the car?

Dino Beganovic: I had a very good start. Straight away I wanted to get the track position and stay P3, P2, to start saving the tyres because we always knew that in the last five laps that's where we would pick up the pace and try to push and I did so. I got good track position, I could stay behind Luke for majority of the race, just saving tyres and not really wanting to attack. Then I started pushing a bit more in the end, actually it was after the VSC, I couldn't get back the feeling that I wanted from before and that's where I started to struggle quite a bit. We had a good battle with Gabriele in the last two laps and to be honest I'm not so disappointed with P3, considering we started P5, and it was a very tough race in general.

FIA Formula 3: Talk us through the battle with your teammate Gabriele Mini. Obviously you are fighting for points, fighting for glory but at the same time it's your teammate, so did that stay in the back of your mind?

Beganovic: We are all, like Luke said, clever drivers. We have been in this Championship for a year already and Gabriele and I, we have been racing each other since karting. So, we know how we race each other, it's always fair but hard, which is good to see and we definitely put on a show at the end. I really couldn't keep it up because I just didn't have any tyres left because he just saved it better than me for the majority of the race. But I mean if we are teammates or not, we have always been fighting hard but fair and that's very nice to see and very nice to have in motorsport.

FIA Formula 3: Back on the podium, just in time for the final round of the triple-header next weekend in Silverstone, what can we expect from you?

Beganovic: It's one of my favourite tracks to be honest, to drive. Even though last year was not great I really enjoyed driving at the track. It's a high-speed track, and I really love that. We are coming away from a P3 in Spielberg, but it's been a very tough couple of weeks since Imola, not having the right feeling with the car and to be honest I'm still not super happy with how I'm feeling in the car, that's why I am very pleased with this P3. We will try to sort things out for Silverstone, we will do our best to dig into details, to fight back even stronger and to get this feeling back that I am most comfortable with.

FIA Formula 3: Thank you.