Interview
VAR Melbourne Sprint 1-2 ‘bodes well for the future’ says Szafnaeur
Van Amersfoort Racing CEO and Managing Partner Otmar Szafnaeur hailed the team’s one-two result in the Melbourne, and has called on them to make trips to the podium a regular occurrence in 2026.
Bruno del Pino led the team’s charge at Albert Park, the Spaniard winning from reverse grid pole, ahead of Enzo Deligny in the Red Flagged race.
Speaking in the paddock afterwards, Szafnauer was delighted with the result and the performance of his drivers.
“It’s great. It's very good for the drivers,” started Szafnaeur. “As you know, they didn't qualify in that position because it was a reverse grid, but for them to put in the lap times that they did and stay out in front was significant.
“They did a good job managing the tyres and as you saw, there was an accident that cut the race short. But nevertheless, they were creating a gap up front and that bodes well for the future.”
Del Pino is VAR’s most experienced driver, with both Deligny and Hiyu Yamakoshi rookies. For the Szafnauer his know how in the Championship is important, as shown by his performance in the Sprint.
Del Pino is VAR’s most experienced driver, with both Deligny and Hiyu Yamakoshi rookies. For the Szafnauer his know how in the Championship is important, as shown by his performance in the Sprint.
“The second year here is meaningful because you don't get much track time here,” he explained.
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“We will see when we get to Europe, where the other drivers have driven those tracks that the seat time, the understanding of the tracks, and the understanding of how to extract performance is meaningful. But today, he did a great job.”
VAR started the 2025 season in Melbourne also with a Sprint Race win, and a third place in the Feature, before going to have their most successful campaign in Formula 3.
While Szafnauer appreciates that, he says the fact that they qualified towards the back end of the top 12 is proof that they still have more work to do.
“Well, it's all gains at the margin,” he explained. “We have to have a good understanding of what we're doing and make those marginal gains as time goes on.
“So that is what we'll look to do and get better in the future. Qualifying wasn't quite where we wanted it to be, so we've got to work a little bit on that.”
Looking ahead to the Feature Race on Sunday and also to the rest of the season, Szafnauer hopes this result is a start of VAR being regular visitors to the podium.
“For me, every race, I was us to learn and get better,” he continues. “Then we will see where the results can take us. But once you finish on the podium, your objective needs to be that every time.”