Maloney targeting pole position in Monza after finishing fastest in Practice

Zane Maloney was pleased with his and Rodin Motorsport’s performance in Monza Practice after he topped the timesheets. He is hopeful of continuing that form in Qualifying, where his target is taking pole.
From the minute the lights turned green, Maloney was a constant fixture at the top, with his final lap of a 1:32.385 putting him over a tenth clear of the rest of the field.
Speaking straight after jumping out of his cockpit, a delighted Maloney talked through the opening 45 minutes of the weekend.
PRACTICE: Zane Maloney sets the pace for Rodin Motorsport in Monza opener

“For sure, it’s been a long break, a month, so to get back into it and be close to the front straight away was a good feeling,” he stated. “The track is quite different with the new tarmac, quite dirty in places but there’s a lot of grip.
“So, it gave us confidence, obviously everyone is trying different downforce levels so that’s going to be very interesting going into quali and the race, so I learned a lot in that session and the team did a great job.”
Explaining further about the changes made to the Monza layout, Maloney continued: “You have a lot less headaches driving around now, the track is a lot smoother. All those bumps in the braking zones and halfway down the straight before Ascari they are all gone.
“So, it’s a nicer ride than previously in the F2 car and then there was more grip in general, they did a good job with the new asphalt. Obviously, the new kerbs, everything worked out together and it’s a really nice track to drive now especially.”
Despite the changes to the track, Monza is still a track with plenty of straights, where most of the lap is spent with your foot on the throttle.
Many teams bolted on the low downforce rear wings looking to help their straight-line performance. For most of the grid, this will be their first time running this specification since the Barcelona in-season test, which Maloney believes was not too representative given the high-downforce nature of the Spanish venue.
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He does however believe many will choose the same setup direction for Qualifying, where he is also predicting chaos as the drivers jostle for position so that they can benefit from a slipstream around the lap.
“You can’t plan for it,” said Maloney when asked about planning to get a tow during Qualifying. “To be honest I am not looking forward to it, even in Practice we were first to get stopped down the straight with the Red Flag.
“It’s going to be interesting, we are close to the back of the pit lane, obviously that lends us to getting a good tow, but it also lends us to getting a bit of chaos being at the back.
“We will create a plan, but I am sure that plan won’t happen, so we will have to play it by ear and try to get a good tow and actually get a lap in, unlike last year.”
With four rounds left in the season, Pole Position would go a long way to helping Maloney, who is fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, close the 54-point gap he currently has to leader Isack Hadjar.
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“Of course, pole is the goal every weekend really,” added Maloney. “I mean it’s clear to see that we do have pace this weekend which is a relief after the last few rounds. Of course, when you are in the top five really you are going to have a good weekend.
“So, just trying to not have too much chaos, get a good lap in, drive well, and I am sure the team will give me a good car. So, just going to go for it and see what happens.”