Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Sebastian Montoya has explained how he is stepping up his approach as he looks to improve in his sophomore FIA Formula 3 season.
The Campos Racing driver currently lies 13th in the standings, thanks mainly to a double points finish at Melbourne. Illness hindered him in pre-season testing, putting him on the back foot for Bahrain’s season opener where he went points-free.
“The main thing in Bahrain was just to understand the car for like all the learning I wasn’t able to do in the testing,” said Montoya as he spoke to Formula Scout about what had changed for 2024.
“The biggest thing I’ve worked on from last year to this year is just trying to maximise everything a bit more, not only on track but off track as well.
“[I’m] giving myself time to rest, time to recover fully. Just so [when] the season gets really hard, you’re still able to perform 100% and not really drop off. So just trying to work on that and maximise everything.
“Last year we were really focused on trying to do a certain programme that the team wanted to do. This year we’ve kind of changed that a bit to maximise what we’re kind of missing.”
Montoya emphasised the importance of limiting the impact of his weaknesses, with qualifying being “a big target for us right now”, so he can achieve better results on track.
“For example, race pace, I feel like I’m very strong, I’m really quick in the races that I’ve done this year. I’ve been able to overtake quite a lot of cars. A weak point for us has been qualifying. At the end of the year, I was struggling with it a bit. This year hasn’t been ideal. So just trying to maximise what we think we can work on a bit more, and just stuff like that. Working on the mental side a lot more, just trying to have every advantage I can,” he explained.
“Last year the approach I had was just try to drive the best I can, try to go as fast as I can and see how it goes. This year it has kind of changed,” said Montoya, who aims to avoid “overdriving and making mistakes”.
This season the son of 13-times Formula 1 polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya is yet to qualify in the top 12, where the results are reversed to set the grid for sprint races.
“I know if we’re able to qualify in the top 12, we’ll be able to fight for the podium in both races. What we want to try to do now in the European races is just really maximise that speed in qualifying. And if we have a good lap, be in the top five. If the lap is not great, make sure we’re in the top 12.”