Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin says the value of circuit experience from GB3 was shown when he took FIA Formula 3 pole position at Spa-Francorchamps yesterday.
Voisin had to learn the tracks as well as the F3 car through the first six rounds of his rookie season, and in that period he failed to score any points.
Round seven took place at Silverstone, a track he knew from his title-winning GB3 campaign last year, and he finished fourth in the sprint race then third in the feature race. In 2023 Voisin took two poles in GB3 at Spa, and on his return to the circuit this weekend he claimed his maiden F3 pole.
“In my career, I’ve only really raced in UK championships. So coming into F3 this year, a lot of the times I’ve never been to the tracks before. So you get two or three laps in free practice, and that’s about it, you’re straight into qualifying,” he said to media including Formula Scout.
“Certainly Spa is a track that I’ve been to for the last two years and had success at, so that makes a big difference, knowing that there’s the silly things, the brake points and whatnot, and just just the flow of the circuit in general. I think it showed in Silverstone, and it’s shown again this time at Spa. It’s nice to be on pole here, especially after getting pole last year as well in GB3. So yeah, it does make a huge amount of difference to come here beforehand.”
When Formula Scout caught up with Voisin in the paddock just after he took pole, he provided other reasons for his recent improved results too.
“I think we’re making a lot of improvements, I’m working very well with the engineers. A bit of a slow start, which was tough to acclimatise to, considering I set standards for myself. I want to win every time. So tough definitely to start the season and especially with not much preparation. But we’re getting better and better.
“It’s our third top-10 quali in a row, with a pole now, so it’s going in the right direction. So that’s what I’m happy about.
“It’s all hard work [behind this]. Training hard, never giving up, working well with the engineers and just being a bit more confident in our choices. The the guys had a had a tough year last year, and I think we were just trying to get that out of them. And now they’ve got the confidence in me. it’s working and it’s getting well together.”
Interview by Roger Gascoigne