Aug
30
Will Buller’s British F3 Blog
Hi guys,
Last time I spoke to you, I’d just come to the end of the Snetterton round of the British F3 International Series, and a weekend of mixed emotions.
Having taken a podium finish in the second race of the weekend, I was forced out within metres of the start of race three and it meant I found myself ninth in the championship as we prepared to head to Europe for three rounds on the continent.
The first of those was in Germany at the Nurburgring, and going into the weekend, it was all looking good for me. I knew the circuit well from my days in Formula BMW and had finished on the podium before, which left me confident of a strong weekend.
Qualifying went okay, but we didn’t have the set-up quite right on the car and it meant I didn’t have the speed I’d been hoping for. It had been difficult ahead of qualifying because of mixed conditions in practice, which meant we couldn’t quite try everything we’d wanted to. I knew we could have gone quicker and been higher up the grid, but I was still confident of three good races.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned in the races as I got caught up in incidents with a driver who was coming into the championship for the weekend, Antonio Felix da Costa. I managed to finish fifth in race one despite him hitting me on the final lap but then missed out on a possible podium in race two when he hit me while I was running in third. He got a grid penalty for race three but then forced me wide in that race as well and it meant I could only finish seventh.
It’s a difficult situation to be in when a guest driver comes in for a weekend, because they aren’t involved in the championship fight and it means they sometimes push more than if they were looking for points for the title race. Often they want to do well because things haven’t gone to plan in the series they are normally racing in, but da Costa really affected my weekend and meant I had work to do to fight back when we arrived at Paul Ricard.
I’ve never been to the French circuit before, so the first thing when we arrived at the circuit for practice was to learn the layout. It’s definitely more difficult to learn the circuit at Paul Ricard than it is at a regular circuit – like the new Snetterton – because there are so many different variations to the layout and you have bits of circuit going off in different directions. However, on the plus side, it’s very open and there is a lot of run-off if you do make a mistake; it isn’t like somewhere like Brands Hatch where you make a mistake and you’re in the gravel.
I soon got used to the circuit and it’s definitely an impressive place, but part of me thinks it is a venue that is better suited to testing – which is what it is mainly used for – than for actual racing.
Qualifying wasn’t great if I’m being honest, but I was still confident that we could turn things around because I knew it was a circuit where overtaking was possible, and as it was, I managed to come away from the weekend with some good results.
Seventh in race one meant I benefited from the reverse grid for race two to start on ole and I got a good start before the race was stopped after an accident which was caused by some confusion about yellow lights flashing on the gantry before the green ones came on. When it came to the restart, I didn’t even think about what had happened before and I got away well again and managed to lead the whole race to take my first win. Following that up with second in the final race from eighth on the grid was good and moved me up to sixth in the standings.
All season, I knew I had the speed but for one reason and another, I just hadn’t had the results to back it up. The guys at Fortec had been working hard to improve the car though and the victory was really the boost that I needed to push my season on.
From Paul Ricard, we travelled to Spa for a weekend where the grid was boosted by a number of European drivers competing in the FIA series, so there was a strong field of 29 cars on the grid.
With the improvements we’d made to the car, I was confident of a good weekend as Spa is a circuit I love. I think all drivers feel the same; it’s an awesome place. In qualifying, I was quickest of the British F3 drivers in fifth place but I was a little disappointed as I feel I could have been on the front row, but I hit traffic on my fast laps towards the end of the session.
The opening race of the weekend was really good as I got up to second overall early on and was leading the British F3 field. Roberto Mehri ahead of me was just too quick and I had to settle for the second step of the podium, but I took the British F3 victory. Fourth in British F3 followed in race two but I think race three was one of my best of the season.
I was fifth on the grid but didn’t get the best of starts and dropped down to about eighth place overall. I was still leading the British F3 guys but I decided I wasn’t going to settle for that and started pushing to get as far up the field as possible. I was able to make up places throughout the race and finished on the podium in third overall to take my third British F3 win in six races and move up to second in the championship.
Given where I was after the Nurburgring, the way we have battled back in the two meetings that followed has been great and I’m now in a really strong position in the championship. Of course, my aim at the start if the season was to win the championship title but things happen as the year goes on that mean you have to change your goals.
Mathematically, I can still win the title this season but I know that Felipe Nasr is going to be difficult to catch as he’s had a great year and not dropped many points. Personally, I’ve had a few DNFs that have affected my chances as when I’ve finished, it’s usually been towards the front of the field. However, I can only do my best when I’m out on track and what’s done is done – so my aim for the final rounds of the year is not to worry about the points and just go for as many wins as possible.
If things don’t go to plan for Nasr and I’m able to catch him, then that would be fantastic, but at the same time, finishing second would also be a good achievement as it’s been so close in the standings all year.
Next up we go to Rockingham for my home race, and I go there on the back of a good two-day test at Pembrey in Wales. I’d been out of the car for a while so it was a good chance to get back behind the wheel again. During the test, I was quicker than my Fortec team-mates and also faster than the Hitech guys who were there, which bodes well for the weekend.
Rockingham is a circuit I enjoy and I know it well, but it is difficult to predict what will happen as everyone has tested there quite a lot and it means they know what set-up they want to use and have been able to work on things before they get to the circuit for the actual race meetings.
However, I’m going there on a high after my recent results and hopefully I’ll have been on the top step of the podium again when I next speak to you!
Until next time,
Will