With only a few hours left until the race, the paddock is again heating up with opinions about Magione. The track seems to have his own little querks and especially the grips is just too “soapy” for some of the drivers. We asked around and a few of the drivers made their statement to the 2nd track of the season:

Not a lot [preparation] compared to Baku but i believe we have a setup advantage compared to the other teams due to something we have found whilst practicing so we will try to make that work for us as much as possible and maximize the available points. ~Arturs Edvars Gavars (54 laps of practice)

I havent done much compared to most of the grid but ill be looking to train and get what i can get out of the track today. Some have done 200 laps already and ive done like 10. ~Daniele Tallarino (13 laps of practice)

I really didn’t practise enough (a total of 3 laps as I’m writing this) but I do know the track pretty well, I will probably do more practise later on/closer to the race start. As I think I’ve said for every race, pre-season and the actual season, my goal is around P10 or better. I also hope to finish with minimal damage but you never know, anything can happen at this track. ~Tyler Schlebusch (3 laps of practice)

Im scared. ~Michal Šulc (67 laps of practice)

This race is indeed different from the last one, its a very different circuit from the last races, very much harder in my opinion, i have done a lot of training, but got no where, my hopes are very low for magione, but i will redo myself for suzuka, competition dosen’t sleep eh? i have done much practice in three days but i just can’t understand the circuit, the race will defently be interesting, its gonna be hard to find spots for overtakes, and as much as people hate to hear it this race is gonna need perfection, at the slightest error you fall behind and lose a lot, said so we will see tonight what will happen. ~Goele Frisa (65 laps of practice)

Amount of preparation? Almost adequate

Level of confidence boosted by preparation? Negative

The more I try stuff with the setup and the line the more I want to pull out of the championship and cry in a corner. No, the real answer is what I said a few days ago, people are gonna bitch and moan in practice, then the race will come and pass and it’ll have been fine. ~Sebastian Iordache (45 laps of practice)

I have no clue what I’m doing with this car. Gavars is the best to ask but he’s not playing nice with the riddles it seems. ~Jason Bagley

I definitely did not practice enough due to Daytona fatigue. Fortunatley team LGI is in Simon & LGI’s capable hands, while I race engineer for them. ~Mitch Fusco (70 laps of practice)

I drove a 38 laps on singleplayer with more grip because the 92% on the practice server is diabolical. The thing I’m most scared about is overtaking. This track is just so small ~Nick Van der Meijde

Magione will set our ambitions in the championship. We did our homework and we want to give our best. Consistency will be our key principle for today. ~Claudio Diana (140 laps of practice)

Having done 250 laps, I feel confident for the race. I’ve done many practice race runs to test tyrewear. I also tested around with what downforce to use, high or low. In the end it realy did not feel like a big difference to me. Magione is a very difficult track in the way that it has many sharp turns. I feel like I can finish in a high position this race. My goal is to finish on the podium and hope for the top step. ~Mike Van der Burgt (250 laps in practice and P1 in times)

I have driven a lot of laps on this circuit, but I don’t like the how it drives. With all of Magione’s sharp turns and bumps, I can’t drive comfortably. I am hoping to finish in a high position again. I think there will be a lot of spins and crashes I can take advantage of this race. ~Wesley Van der Burgt (256 laps in practice)

We’re very excited to be part in this second race. I think that work was done for the time that we could, we’re here to take revenge on the last race and bring home at least a car on the podium. Magione is not an easy track for 22 contenders, so we’re gonna see a tricky race and some big moments, in my opinion. Ready to bring some entertainment. ~Christian Potenza