Joining Rodin Motorsport this season for his fourth consecutive year in Formula 2, Amaury Cordeel has had a disappointing start in 2025. Cordeel was confirmed late as a replacement for Christian Mansell, thus missing out on pre-season testing in Bahrain. Lack of practice and a new car set-up has proved challenging so far this season for the Belgian driver. The Jeddah GP will be an opportunity for Cordeel to redeem himself.
Although his pace is strong, qualifying performance is still falling short
Qualifying pace has been particularly demanding for the Belgian driver in the first two races in Melbourne and Bahrain. Yet, the 22-year-old driver spoke confidently about his performance.
“I’m feeling good, I just think I need to sort out Qualifying because pace-wise, I think we have been up there in Bahrain.”
“It’s been pretty okay,” explained Cordeel regarding his start of the season with Rodin.
Accepting responsibility for the underwhelming results in Melbourne and Bahrain, Rodin’s Cordeel is optimistic to improve in Jeddah GP once qualifying pace is resolved. While the driver started low on the grid after poor qualifying sessions both weekends, he ultimately secured decent results given the circumstances. There are therefore valid grounds for optimism.
“We didn’t have the results in Bahrain that we wanted because I had a bad Qualifying. But we did two good races where we went from P21 to P11 and P12.
“So, we made up some good positions, but I think everything starts with Quali. I didn’t put the lap together which cost me P21 in Quali, and also got my lap deleted, so it was not ideal. I just have to improve quali, and it will be better then.”
In last year’s Jeddah Feature Race, Cordeel finished shy of a podium. The Belgian driver finished P5 despite running P3 at the beginning of the final lap.
Cordeel continued to grapple over his performance in 2024: “Last year, Jeddah was good for me, but still I need redemption for last year because I lost a podium in the last corner.”
“I want some redemption, and I will do my best to get it this year” he said determinedly.
On a new car set-up with Rodin Motorsport
Even though car chassis, engine, gearbox and tyres are the same between the different teams, the car set-up is distinct. Cordeel detailed how a driver’s style adjusts to the specific setup of each car:
“Every team has a different setup. You have the different driving styles, but they are always dependent on the kind of setup.”
Drawing on his extensive experience with four different teams across the grid, Cordeel reflected on the contrasts between his current car and his previous stint at Hitech. With a notably different setup, he has had to adjust his driving style to better manage tyre performance.
“The one from Hitech is different to the one from Rodin now, and you always have to adapt a bit, because tyre management also becomes different. For example, if you have a car more on the nose, or more on the rear, the driving style is different.”
A clear objective in Jeddah: a podium redemption
Strong of two races with Rodin now and with an ideally improved qualifying pace, Cordeel is optimistic to secure a good performance for Rodin at the Jeddah GP this weekend. “The goal is obviously to score as many points as possible,” he clearly stated.
“So, two times P1 would be great […]” the Belgian dreamily remarks, after composing himself “[…] but we have to be realistic.”
If he overcomes his difficulties, Amaury Cordeel has a clear vision of what he aims for this weekend: “For sure points is the main goal, but redemption is a podium. So, that’s the goal.”
