‘An unbelievable feeling’ – David reflects on maiden F3 podium at Silverstone

Yevan David achieved his maiden Formula 3 podium in the Silverstone Sprint Race, and as he hopes this result can fuel a strong end to the season.

The AIX Racing driver had his best weekend of the year, qualifying in the top 12 for the first time in P11, putting him on the front row for the Sprint Race.

David started and finished in second, achieving his first podium in F3. But it did not come easy as he was forced to defend from several drivers for the final half of the race without the help of DRS.

Speaking at the end of the weekend, he looked back on his incredible Saturday at Silverstone.

“Honestly, it's a very good achievement to have,” said David. “To be honest, I was quite surprised to have it this early in the season. The only thing I can think about in the grand scheme of things is how much this podium means to me.

“I was watching F3 when I was a 12-year-old kid and to know now that I am here just a few years later with a podium in F3 with double points on a weekend, it's just an incredible feeling.

“Also to see the Sri Lankan flag up on the podium as well, to be the first Sri Lankan to get a podium and score points, it's just an unbelievable feeling and honestly I have to thank so many people for it.”

When asked what he was thinking in the closing stages while battling to keep hold of P2, David said: “I had a game plan to stay in the DRS for as long as possible with Ugo but then once he broke it, I was just basically like, all right, let's keep pushing.

“But then it was full defence mode and honestly, I was just trying to focus on getting good exits and looking in my mirrors. Honestly, I was using my experience from racing on the sim and over my two years in single seaters to defend as much as possible and to place the car perfectly.

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“Obviously, it was a lot harder because I didn't even have DRS to defend but honestly, the main thing wasn't so much about driving, it was more to keep my mind composed.

“I was just telling myself, don't think about the result, keep focused, keep focused, keep focused and then I already knew exactly where to place the car and get good exits and in the end. I was just counting down the laps as much as possible but that was a huge sigh of relief.”

David further reflected on being the first Sri Lankan driver to achieve such a feat in Formula 3, and he spoke about the reaction he has received from people back home.

“Well, obviously the biggest thing that's been said is Minister of Defence, I think that's the new nickname from Sri Lanka,” joked David. “It was good to see F3 posted as well.

“The support has just been immense. Ever since I've been racing in single seaters, it's already been quite high because they've been supporting me for the longest time.

“But now to be in F3 scoring a podium, seeing the Sri Lankan flag on a podium on an F1 weekend means so much more to the country and I think it's really been so pleasant to see all the support and encouragement.

“It's really helping me and fuelling me for the rest of the season because I see it as a huge motivation to keep giving this to the people and to myself to have this feeling again. So honestly, it's just been incredible. It's definitely blown up across the island.”

David made the trip to Silverstone with zero points, but left the circuit with 15, after also scoring points in the Feature Race by finishing seventh.

The Sri Lankan rookie feels things finally came together after a tough start to the season.

“It was coming, it was just a matter of when,” said David. “Of course, we always want to be up there and we know we have potential but having potential is one thing, executing it is another.

“You're only as good as what is shown. So, we showed it this weekend and I think it was a sigh of relief because it definitely clicked. We found that I was able to execute on the weekend finally after a long time, me and the team and it's been a huge sigh of relief.

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“Honestly, I always go into a weekend not expecting too much but I have to say I didn't expect this after the season we've had so far. But it is halfway through the season and I do see it as a huge turning point and honestly, I'm very much seeing it as a breakthrough weekend for the rest of the season.”

David will be keen to continue this form at Spa-Francorchamps for Round 6, a venue very familiar to him and the team given that they do a lot of their work on the simulator at the Belgian track.

“It does feel like a bit of a home race because our sim is in Spa in Eau Rouge,” said David. “But I'm very excited, Spa is one of my favourite tracks.

“I've got my family there again as well so it's going to be a very exciting weekend and as we know, racing is always cool at Spa, you never know with the weather, and we haven't had a wet race this year.

“That could make it interesting as well but we know we've got the racecraft side in pretty good hands so it's just about, once again, having a good qualifying, being in the top 10, scoring those points, getting those reverse grids and executing on the weekend.”