Guest Column
A one-two and a maiden Teams’ Championship: Adrián Campos Jr’s Title Debrief
It was a super Sunday for Campos Racing as not only did Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak lead home Nikola Tsolov in a one-two for the team, but they also sealed their first ever Teams’ title in Formula 3.
Speaking afterwards, their delighted Team Principal Adrián Campos Jr was full of praise for every member of his championship-winning group.
INITIAL THOUGHTS ON BEING CHAMPIONS
“The team did an amazing job all year. With all the pace we had in the beginning, since we put the car on track, the drivers were very happy. I think we took the right direction with the new car since the beginning, probably also helped by the experience we had from F2 because it's a similar car.
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“But the drivers, they delivered the results, even more than we expected in some cases, and this helped the whole team to end up where we ended up.
“We had an idea, and altogether the atmosphere inside the team was amazing, between drivers, teams, mechanics, and at the end when this happens, the results come.
“Everything was working well, the drivers were trusting the engineers, the mechanics and the other way around as well. We were always trusting the drivers, and when they feel this, they give a bit extra and I think this has been the case.
“We had the bad luck in Austria where we lost a big amount of points. But we never lost faith that even with the handicap we could end up fighting for the title until the last race and that's what happened.
“I think there is no better way to win a team title than finishing the Feature Race one-two which is something we had never thought of in our mind.
“Looking back, if someone tells me that this was going to happen five years ago, when we were in a very difficult situation and suddenly my father passed away, I wouldn't have believed it. So having said this I am even more happy and proud in the team.
FEATURE RACE: Inthraphuvasak wins ahead of Tsolov as Campos take Teams’ title in epic Monza finale
“Also in those bad moments that we went through, everyone stayed together, worked hard and this is the result. I want them to enjoy it but also to motivate them to stay like this and then to go for it again next year.”
ALL-STAR DRIVERS
“They have been amazing. I cannot say anything to Nikola because at the end, to be honest, I don't know how far he finished from Câmara, but we lost a lot of points at the Red Bull Ring.
“So if that didn't happen, that at the end was bad luck., a team responsibility but in my opinion, bad luck. Without this, I think we would have brought the Drivers’ Championship fight here to Monza, and that would have been nice. But I cannot complain, he is runner-up.
“Mari, he also did great. He did a big step from last year. As I have said in other interviews, Mari has been extremely quick but he had to deliver when it mattered.
“Sometimes no one was faster than him in Free Practice and testing but in Qualifying there was always something going on. Now, he has made that step, he did good in Qualifying and when he did that, he did good results in the races.
“That was the big difference for him, and I happy for both of them, finishing in the top three. “As for Tas, a bit more up and down in some races, but when things were going well, the potential for Tas was very, very big, extremely big.
“On paper, seeing his results from last year, to be honest we were expecting very good results from him, because we thought we could help him a lot.
“But winning a Feature Race, like he did today, we thought 'Okay that would be good but that would also be difficult' but he did it. So very proud of all three.”
PUTTING TOGETHER A GREAT TEAM
“From my side, I am happy with the decisions I took, and I am extremely happy with the team and every team member that followed this.
“They understood what was best for the team. At the end, no one can do everything perfectly. There are people who are experienced with one thing and others experienced in others.
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“So for me, the key has been to understand this, understand what positions they are better and try to maximise that by giving them the responsibility that they can control.
“This has been the key to the evolution of the team in the last five years. Now the difficult part is coming, which is staying at the top. It's always very difficult, but we will do our best and then try to be one of the references in both F2 and F3.”