Feature
Roman Bilinski: My Ultimate Driver
Roman Bilinski has had an up and down rookie campaign so far for Rodin Motorsport, but the rookie has shone on occasion already in 2025.
He has perhaps taken some inspiration from his picks for the ultimate racing driver, combining the talents of some all-time greats with differing styles and approaches.
Here’s what he came up with.
WET WEATHER DRIVING
“Ayrton Senna. From watching the movie and documentary, it wasn’t so much that it was just natural for him, but he also worked at it. Another natural in the wet is Max Verstappen. These two are up there for driving in the wet.”
CARRYING SPEED IN THE CORNERS
“Possibly… Honestly, I’m going to say Charles Leclerc. He makes a few mistakes but it’s because he’s on the limit all the time. So, I’d say Charles.”
TYRE MANAGEMENT
“Lewis Hamilton. It’s Lewis, seven-time World Champion so he knows his way around them by now.”
RISK TAKING
“Max. That’s a Max question. It’s a cool thing though. He adds so much excitement and controversy to the sport, which I think is a good thing.”
SMOOTH VS AGGRESSIVE
“Going to have to go back to Lewis. He’s pretty smooth and I think that comes into the tyre management side of things as well.
“It depends on the car and the track and corner, but I prefer a bit more fun to lean aggressive. Even if it’s not always the quickest, it makes the car move around a bit more which is fun. But smooth tends to be the fastest. I’d say I’m more on the smooth side.”
OVERTAKING ABILITY
“I’ll pick a different driver because I wanted to pick Max, so I’ll pick Daniel Ricciardo. He sends some pretty big moves and it’s insane how he’d even think of doing it. So I’ll pick him.”
WHAT ELSE IS IMPORTANT?
“The mental side of things. Not adding too much pressure on yourself and having a clear mind going into a session. In motorsport, there’s so many distractions – you go on your phone and see the wrong thing, and it can destroy your head before a session.
“Also being able to clear all of that out of your head and focus on what you need to do is a massively important thing you need to be able to do.”
READ MORE: Keeping it calm in Qualifying and the art of defending: How I Race with Ugo Ugochukwu
ANYONE YOU’VE MISSED?
“Fernando Alonso. He’s so smart when it comes to the regulations that it’s unbelievable. He can play the sport exactly how it needs to be played. We’re in a sport where there’s massive regulations and you have to use everything to your advantage, and he’s incredibly smart and clever when it comes to that.”