Nakamura targeting more after maiden F3 points in Melbourne

Jin Nakamura’s debut weekend ended up with points as the Hitech driver wound up P9 in the Feature Race, but he was not entirely satisfied with his time in Melbourne.

Promising pace wasn’t translated in Qualifying as a mistake hampered his final attempt and left him just over a tenth of a second off the top 12, a crucial position to battle for points in both races.

However, it was a learning weekend, and the Japanese driver was still able to take plenty of learnings from his time in Australia.

“My expectation was to get some points, but for me it was not realistic because of how the weekend unfolded,” Nakamura explained.

“But when we arrived on the track in FP1, my feeling was quite decent, I would say. But still, my driving was just not enough good, I would say.

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“I improved for Qualifying, but I had a few mistakes on my best lap, so it was a bit of a shame. I was P15, it was quite decent lap for my first F3 qualifying. I was only maybe a tenth off a top 12, so I lost out with my mistake but it's massive confidence because it was my first time in Melbourne.”

Reflecting on his weekend further and focusing on what he was able to take into the next round, Nakamura said his result was important in order to build momentum for the upcoming races.

With Monaco next up providing one of the toughest challenges of the season, the Hitech driver says that the team’s past success around the venue would also prove valuable heading into his second F3 outing.

“Melbourne was quite a difficult track, to be honest. It's a street track, but quite a high-speed track too. My racecraft was only OK, to be honest. But, overall, some penalties for a few drivers helped me to get points. It was quite a good result for the team and for me.

“Monaco is first time for me. I already did some sim sessions, and it’s one of my dreams to race there. I'm excited to drive that track, let’s see how it's going to go. Last year, Hitech was super strong with Martinius Stenshorne, so I’m looking forward to it.”

In the meantime, Nakamura says he’ll be undertaking plenty of sim work in order to maintain his sharpness and ensure he’s as prepared as possible for the Monte Carlo races and the all-important Qualifying session around the Principality.

“I’ll just be training every day. I did a 12k run today, I've got a sim setup in my room so I can drive whenever I want to. It’s good because I can train my driving skills and stay sharp.

“I wanted to go back to Japan, but I think I don't have enough time to go there and back. So I will be at Hitech preparing things and then training, talking with my engineers, all that kind of stuff.”