Motorsport: Kiwi Formula 1 hope Marcus Armstrong on life in the fast lane

Marcus Armstrong likes racing at Silverstone. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealander Marcus Armstrong is back in action this weekend at round four of the FIA F2 championship as a support category to the British Formula One Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Stepping up from F3 last year, Armstrong, 20, showed early form by finishing on the podium at the first round in Austria. He picked up points again at the second round but came unstuck at the third in Hungary, where he missed out on building on his points haul.

"I don't want to talk about Budapest too much, as it was a bit of a pain and bad things happen quite often in motorsport," said Armstrong from the team bus on the way from Paris to Silverstone.

"Overall, I don't think it was disappointing, as we had all the ingredients and great pace, which we showed by coming from 19th to finish ninth.

"Some weekends just don't pan out how you want them to. It can go the other way also, where you can get a good result and not have much pace.

"Our time is coming, as we have the fundamentals right, and in different circumstances, we would have been opening the Champagne."

Silverstone should be a happy hunting ground for Armstrong this weekend as he's had considerable success there in the past. It's a circuit he likes and suits his driving style.

"I'm really looking forward to racing at Silverstone this weekend. I enjoy the circuit and it's close to London. It's one of those iconic tracks you played on a video game when you were younger.

"I've had success there over the past few years. It's a very high-speed track and all the corners are physically demanding because of the speed you approach and go through them. The layout and track conditions are hard on tyres, which will need good management.

"Making the most of your aero there is always difficult because of how fast the track and corners are. On an average circuit, you have a number of slow speed corners, but at Silverstone, it's flat out most of the time through high-speed sweepers."

If the team can get the car in the window from the get-go, the Kiwi will be looking to at least get back on the podium. The move up to F2 machinery from F3 is a big leap and the cars are not too dissimilar to their F1 counterparts.

"It's a tough one, especially in F2, as these cars are like wild animals and you need to manhandle them quite a lot. Silverstone will be a challenge, but a good one," said Armstrong.

"We don't have much track practice time in F2 as a support to F1. You have to have the car right straight out of the box, which is definitely what I'm striving for. I want to arrive at a track and be the guy to beat right from the start.

"That's our target this weekend — to be there and on it right from the green light at the beginning of the race weekend."

The 2020 F2 season has been entertaining so far with five different race winners in the opening three rounds. When the planets have been aligned, Armstrong has been at the pointy end of the field, and this weekend could be a chance to snatch his first race win of the season.