Formula 3 testing is now in the rear view mirror and the start of the season is coming up fast. Ahead of that, Everything F1 spoke with the drivers as they make their final preparations. Here’s what two of the drivers from the brand new team on the grid, DAMS Lucas Oil, had to say.
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Matias Zagazeta
Off the back of a tough season last year, which did include a third place finish at the Sprint Race in Silverstone, the Peruvian driver is ready to come back ready for battle in 2025. Having switched teams from Jenzer to DAMS (the former no longer competing in the series), his knowledge and experience will be invaluable to both the team and his teammates as they look to maximise their results on track.
“I’m super happy to be part of DAMS. And I’m really happy as well with the way they have been working. So in that aspect, I’m really happy. Of course, last year, it was three of us rookies. So I know how difficult that is. And it was really difficult because, of course, Charlie and Max are still really fast drivers. But it was really, really difficult to to kind of push each other because we
didn’t really have an idea of the car or the tracks were new.”
There are some differences of course between Zagazeta’s old team and his new one. One of these is the fact that unlike last year, in 2025, his teammates will have a mentor to help them as they bed themselves into the new series – something the Peruvian wishes he had had in his rookie season.
“We always needed to have that like second year driver. That would have been fantastic. So I think for for Christian and Nicola this season, I’ll really try and help them as well with things they need. If they have any questions as well or any understanding from what I took from last year, I can for sure give it to them as well.” – Matias Zagazeta
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Christian Ho
Rookie on the grid for 2025, Christian Ho, has his eyes firmly set on the future. At the tail end of last year, there was controversy and confusion following the finale of the Eurocup-3 Championship which resulted in Ho only officially being declared Champion in February of this year. None of this has been playing on Ho’s mind however.
“For me, that was settled months ago. We always knew what the end result was going to be. Now I’m just trying to focus on the campaign this year. I think, starting off, we have to focus on our basics and that’s what we were doing in our test and I’m looking forward to this year.” – Christian Ho
DAMS will be happy that they’ve got a determined rookie on their roster for 2025. Combine that with Zagazeta’s experience and the addition of seventeen year old Italian driver Nicola Lacorte to their ranks and DAMS look set to have a team full of potential for 2025.
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Formula 3 commences its 2025 championship in Australia from March 14th-16th.
Feature Image: Joe Portlok