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A triple header, one week off, and then a double header make up half of the F3 season.
Spain, Austria, and Silverstone, followed by Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps, all in the span of a little over a month.
For Formula 1, it’s a long couple of weeks. For Formula 2, it’s a crucial period of the season. But for Formula 3, it’s an entire half of the championship.
The Formula 3 season, which runs from March to September, has five of their ten rounds in this busy period. Having so many races in such quick succession is certainly a challenge for these young drivers, and they have to be prepared.
Preparation for the coming races
In a Virtual Media Roundtable ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend with select media, including FormulaNerds, PREMA Racing driver Dino Beganovic commented: “We’re heading into a very important period of the season, with five races now, basically half of the season, in almost just one month.”
When asked by FormulaNerds about the preparation for this stretch of races, he added: “Like most of the F3 championship, the preparation is key, especially in this period where we have a triple header and then one week rest and a double later. And like I said before, it’s half of the season in six weeks, so all the prep we have done is key. We don’t have time to prep for the next round in one or two days, we have all done it before going into this triple header.
“I would say that the most important thing is to be fit mentally and physically for this, not only for the drivers but also for the team. Everybody has to keep the motivation up throughout the whole month, and I will just be on it and deliver.”
Beganovic currently sits fourth in the FIA Formula 3 standings, but he’s only 14 points off championship leader Gabriele Mini.
Momentum, confidence, and excitement
Also answering the question, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel Leon emphasised the importance being confident.
“It’s important to have confidence going into these months because obviously you don’t have time in between the races to rest, to reset your mind and go again,” the Mexican driver said. “You come back again and do it again. It’s really important to be confident with the team and yourself, to be on it from Lap 1 basically.
“I think everything is set from Barcelona, if you have a really good weekend in Barcelona, you have that momentum for all four race weekends that are coming. So focusing in Barcelona is going to be really important to have a good quali, and that is all.”
While this part of the Formula 3 season is crucial and intense, for rookies like Rodin Motorsport’s Joseph Loake, excitement is a big part of it as well.
“To be honest it’s more exciting for me than anything, going into a triple header,” Loake told FormulaNerds. “I just can’t wait to get going, to see what it’s like and obviously do the best we can.
“I think a lot of preparation has gone into it, obviously back at the factory we’re doing all sorts of stuff to make sure that we’re prepared as possible. But I think it should be a strong few rounds for us, so I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait to get stuck in.”
Formula 2
The Formula 2 season has 14 rounds, so the stakes for the coming weeks are a little bit lower. But still, momentum is important, especially for drivers in the title fight.
One of those drivers, Dennis Hauger, also spoke to FormulaNerds and select media ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend about the importance of the next few rounds.
“Definitely it’s going to be an important triple header,” he said. “A lot of points on the table. I think it’s the most intense part of the year.
“I think for F3 it’s even more important because they have less races than us. Still, it’s going to be an important few weeks for the championship to really get the ground on the championship and see where you are before the last few rounds. So they’re definitely going to be important.”
The Spanish Grand Prix weekend starts with Practice and Qualifying today for the feeder series drivers, and it’ll be the first of much racing to come in the end of June and July.
Feature Image Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli – Getty Images