Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Nikita Bedrin has explained the main driving trick he carried over from his rookie FIA Formula 3 season into a sophomore year he was underprepared for.
The PHM-supported driver joined the brand’s F3 team — now known as AIX Racing — in February off the back of Taylor Barnard’s sudden step up to Formula 2, and currently lies 24th in the standings with eight points.
“I was quite surprised when I got the news,” he told Formula Scout. “It was a week before testing in F3, so I was thinking ‘what if I’m not prepared enough physically and mentally?’. So I had to basically mentally prepare for it because I knew it wouldn’t be easy as I missed all the post-season testing.
“I was still excited and thought that this is a chance that I can also prove that I’m a good driver and do a proper job. “
Bedrin kicked off 2024 with PHM in Formula 4 United Arab Emirates, which he had raced in two years prior, and won three races there. He then joined MP Motorsport’s Formula Regional European Championship line-up to take in another lower level category he had experience of, and that became a part-time programme after his F3 call-up. He is “hoping to make podiums” there, having done so as a part-timer in 2023.
“Adaptation is key in this situation because I have to adapt very quickly every time. F4 UAE was super easy. I didn’t struggle with that low downforce. I can feel the car really well. Now that I’m switching every time from F3 to FREC is kind of difficult. We only have [45] minutes of free practice [in F3], so it means only four or five push laps before qualifying.
“It’s very important to be spot on which isn’t easy, especially when the track feels different in qualifying when you have new tyres. The track is better after Formula 1, and you have to be spot on.
“It was just a very difficult year last year as my driving style was not suiting for this [F3] car and it was super difficult to change it,” said Bedrin, who came 18th in the standings with two podiums as a rookie.
“But slowly I did [change] it and towards the end of the year, I was doing good. So I made sure I kept it with me, kept the mindset of finishing most of the races without crashing, being careful and yet still gaining positions when I can. Just brought that mindset with a bit more of mature approach.
He added: “My throttle applications were always wrong. I always wanted to be basically early on power. But with this car when you go early on power, it starts to become unbalanced. And then you can really get in time to full throttle, which is something that you carry from F4. There you basically have to be on throttle early and be progressive. Here, instead you can be quite aggressive at it and it’s important to be quick to be flat in this car.”