Interview
Macau winner Verschoor realistic ahead of 2020 season
Richard Verschoor may have stunned the world of junior motorsport with his win in the FIA F3 World Cup at Macau last November, but he’s remaining realistic with his aims for the delayed 2020 F3 campaign.
Returning to an F3 paddock for the first time in over three months since pre-season testing in the Bahraini desert, Verschoor says it didn’t take him long to feel at home again, once he heard the roar of engines and the smell of oil.
He’s hoping for a similarly speedy process when he clambers into his MP Motorsport machine tomorrow for Free Practice. “I haven’t driven for so long,” he laughs. “I have no idea how long {it will take to get back up to speed}, but soon I hope, because we only have 45 minutes!
“It was a little strange to be back at first, and a bit warm with the face coverings, but I just want to go racing, it has been way too long.
“It was going to be a long time between Macau and the start of the season anyway, it’s just taken a bit longer. There is still a good vibe here though and I think with the changes within the team, that we should be up there quite soon. I just cannot wait to get started.”
"I prefer to do my talking with actions, rather than words.”
Finishing first in the Macau Grand Prix last year catapulted the unassuming Dutchman into the limelight this season. Eyes will be firmly fixed on him when racing begins this weekend, but despite the added noise, Verschoor isn’t getting carried away.
He continued: “I don't want to say that I am fighting for a title, because realistically, I have no idea where we are at.
“Macau is a bit of a different track than the others as well, so I wouldn’t say that I am immediately fighting for the Championship, when I finished 13th last year. Obviously, it is my aim to do the best that I can, but I prefer to do my talking with actions, rather than words.”
Despite the added clout that his Macau win will have handed him, when searching for a team in 2020, Verschoor said he had no doubts about returning to MP Motorsport, who have played home to the 19-year-old since his early single seater days in 2016.
“I am as confident as I can be,” he explained. “If I wasn’t confident in the team then I wouldn’t have stayed. I am really confident, and there has been a real family feeling about MP for a long time already, so I am just happy to continue with them.
“We didn’t have a very good year last year and we obviously didn’t get the results that we wanted, with 13th place, but as I said, with the changes in the team, in myself, and the motivation we have from Macau, we are confident. “I think that I showed that we can do it and that I can do it - we just have to go for it from now on.”