Interview
Bhirombhakdi keen to be as ‘competitive as possible’ in debut F3 campaign
Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi is hopeful of being competitive early on his rookie Formula 3 campaign, as he prepares to go racing in Melbourne – the track he is looking forward to racing at the most in 2026.
The DAMS Lucas Oil driver is set to start his fourth season in single seater racing and has had a strong winter of preparing for his debut year in F3.
Bhirombhakdi has been with the team for the three post-season tests last year and was also back in the car at pre-season testing in Barcelona last month.
Speaking before the three days of running got underway, Bhirombhakdi previewed the year by revealing what he would like to achieve early on.
“I'm just trying to be as competitive as possible,” said Bhirombhakdi on the 2026 campaign. “I want to deliver as much as I can with my ability and my experience.
“It’s still not that much, but I am just trying to just work as hard as possible to achieve the best results as I can.”
Speaking more about the season ahead, Bhirombhakdi added: "I’m very excited that I'll be competing, not just in Europe, but in Australia and in Bahrain, experiencing new tracks, it’s very exciting.
“The levels are very high and, you are competing against the best drivers. So, I am very excited for the step up and I am trying to hopefully get good results and improve race by race.”
READ MORE
- How To Watch Round 1 in Melbourne: TV and Session Times and much more
- Eight things to look forward to in the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season
When asked what the winter had looked like for him preparing for the 2026 season, Bhirombhakdi said: “The winter has been good. I've been doing a lot of physical training to prepare for a bigger and faster car.
“It was a bit of a wake-up call for me when I first tested, but now I feel physically and mentally good. I think also just how different the tyres are and how important it is to just put everything together in one lap.
“So not only should you be physically at 100%, but also mentally. But it’s a new car, and I have new things I had to learn a lot, so looking back at the post-season tests, they were not easy.
“But I could see that I was improving every session and day by day it was getting better. So a lot was done during the post-season tests.
Round 1 in Melbourne is just around the corner and Bhirombhakdi admits he cannot wait to get going down under.
“I am really looking forward to Melbourne,” he added. “I have heard from many drivers that the fans are great. The track looks great and also just because it's in Australia, and I haven't been there for a while, I think the last time was like 15 years ago on holiday.
“So I'm very excited to see how Australia will be, not just how the track, but also the culture itself.”