I’m pretty happy with how my first season in FIA Formula 3 went, even though the Monza finale was a bit disappointing in terms of everything that happened.
To make the jump from winning the Italian and German F4 titles is something that can’t be underestimated. It’s a big step with a lot of new things that I needed to do. So, it wasn’t easy, but I think I did a good job of it, especially in the latter part of the season. I was happy with the progression, which was really the priority.
The professionalism from F4 to F3 changes a lot, but the Prema team welcomed me really nicely – it’s like a family. It’s a lovely atmosphere within the team, and my team-mates [Arthur Leclerc and Jak Crawford] helped me get up to speed quicker and gel with the team.
The podium at Silverstone was a highlight. It was amazing to do that in front of the home fans. It was my first feature race podium, and it started a string of good results. Then at Spa and Monza I managed to do the double podium, and it was super-nice at Spa to get my first win.
Of course, Monza was bittersweet. I got the two podiums, but I needed just that little bit more to take the title. I think the sprint race was always a bit more difficult for me. It was the first race of the weekend and it was kind of a learning race.
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It was the race where I had to get my act together. In Hungary and from then on, I started to feel that I was doing a better job in the sprints, and it just comes from having more mileage. Normally I was learning in the first race and implementing in the second.
Then I was doing a better job at the end of the season in learning and implementing during the first race. So, it was just a case of experience and managing to do a better job.
I’m a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and they have a long-standing relationship and had their drivers at Prema for a long time, which helps. Prema, before we joined, had won a championship in F3 every year since the new car was brought out, so that swayed things a bit. The goal was always to go there, but Ferrari definitely helped me on that route to joining them.
I’ve definitely matured a lot as a person this year, accelerated by my move to F3. There are a lot of adults in FIA F3; I think I was one of the youngest on the grid, so you have to grow up a lot to join them. I also moved out to Italy, which for me is like going to university a couple of years early.
I have an apartment in Maranello and when I’m out there I’m training every day, I’m on the sim, meetings and everything. It’s about two hours to get to Prema from Maranello. They’re near Venice. Not that I can drive yet – we always have taxis, or I’ll get a lift from Arthur Leclerc because normally we’d be going there at the same time.
I’m not 100% sure what I’ll be doing next year. I’ll be in either F3 or F2, but I’m not sure which yet.
We felt that the Jerez F3 [post-season] test wasn’t necessarily going to be useful for me. It’s not a track that we’ll race at and, with so many new guys testing, the traffic’s quite bad. We’re just looking at the options. Of course, I’d love to move on to F2 but it’s not fully up to me – there are a lot of variables. Either way, I’ll do the best job I can.
It’s an honour to be part of the British Racing Drivers’ Club SuperStars programme this year. Especially at Silverstone, it was nice to go on the main stage – that was a really great experience to be in front of so many fans. I took the F3 commentator on some hot laps on a trackday we did, which was good for building relationships within the BRDC and within motorsport.
It was really exciting to hear the news that I was a finalist in the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award. To be nominated two years in a row is a bit lucky, but I’m really happy that it has happened.
I feel like a much more complete driver than I was last year, so I think I can do a much better job this time around in various aspects. F3 has taught me a lot in terms of tyre management, which is something I felt that I was a bit weak in last year.
I’m really looking forward to showing what I can do. I would say I have an advantage, but that also adds a bit of pressure as a returning driver. I’m more in the spotlight considering it’s my second year and it was a good season for me in F3.
So, it’s a bit of pressure but I enjoy that, and I can hopefully use it to my advantage. I think I can do a good job.
