Dino Beganovic’s Sakhir Weekend In His Words

7 March 2023

It’s not about how you start the weekend that matters, but how you finish it and Dino Beganovic certainly proved that in his debut Formula 3 weekend. After a challenging first Practice session in Sakhir, the PREMA Racing driver bounced back to earn two top four finishes, including a maiden podium in the Feature Race.

Follow the Ferrari Academy junior as he gives his thoughts through the highs and lows of the season opener in Bahrain.

PRACTICE - P17

“Obviously, it’s very different from what I’m used to and everything else because it’s not a lot of running and I can confirm it’s not a lot. That’s why it’s so important to prepare so much before the event and do as much as you can away from the track. I’m now heading in Qualifying; I have a good feeling, the car is good, and I have a good feeling within the team, so everything is feeling good!

“The biggest thing I learnt is probably just to get your reference lap straightway because you really need to get it straightaway to then build up from there and fine tune everything before Qualifying.

“Heading into Qualifying, my target is, it’s a boring answer, but just to do my best – it never really ends up bad then. It’s just to have a clean run, to have a clean weekend and then after that we can build up from there.”

QUALIFYING - P8

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction, especially from FP. It was not an easy start to the weekend; I learned a lot from Free Practice. Also, the experience from Formula 3 Qualifying, it’s definitely a little bit of a mess, but it makes it a bit fun as well. It makes it tricky.

“P8 - I’m not fully satisfied, but still, it's acceptable. We can build from here I would say and definitely a lot learned from today because as I said from Free Practice, it was a massive step forward in terms of driving and also getting used to the whole format of Formula 3.

“It was not easy to put a clean lap together as we only got two complete pushes during all of Qualifying. Then on the first one, I got caught by track limits, so the last one was all or nothing basically because I didn’t have a lap in. I still had to make a decent lap, but within the track, so obviously it’s in the back of your head all the time that you need to finish the lap, not take any stupid risks to go off the track and do track limits. Considering that, it’s an error from me, but in the end, I think we did a good job to stay in the top 10.

“From the beginning of Qualifying to the end, there was quite a big drop in times as the track got colder and the sun was going down. It was quite a big step so if you didn’t make the time in the last push, it would be quite difficult because it was all or nothing. You had to improve as everyone was improving, so I think that’s going to be the story for the whole season.”

SPRINT RACE – P5 to P4

“I’ve learned a lot from the whole weekend, but also from that race. My first race in F3, so there are lots of things to take away to apply to the Feature Race. I think I made some mistakes in the beginning but cleaned it up a bit in the end. So, it was a good race, I’m happy with P4 for my first race in F3 and I think it’s a good baseline.

“I learnt the most about race craft, but also tyre management. We didn’t have a lot of laps, so it was more about pushing and going for it. I learnt a lot about the race craft, obviously it’s a bit different from Formula Regional and what I was used to last year. To come to F3 with the DRS, it’s another way of having to overtake or defend and there are some tricks here and there that I learnt on the way.”

FEATURE RACE – P8 to P3

“I’m super happy with the results, super happy with the whole weekend! A lot’s been learned, more than I expected, there’s a lot of things to take away from the weekend. It’s been a very good start to the season, a very good pace and I think we can work from here.

“I was very happy with the Feature Race because it was such a strong fight through the field, and I made many good overtakes with good speed from the car. I want to thank the team for the support because we’re in this together and we are looking on a high.

“During the race, I think there were a lot of things happening inside the car. I looked at the race afterwards and it was as nice to watch as it was in the car, so I really enjoyed the race a lot. We had good pace, but it was very intense, the start was intense and the Safety Car restart. Then being under pressure from behind, but also having to push to get that spot from Grégoire Saucy on the last lap just before the Safety Car was very important. It was the key for the race because I just got him before the Safety Car, so it was crucial to get the move done there and I did it.”

UP NEXT – HEADING TO AUSTRALIA THIRD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP

“I think Australia’s a special place. Nobody's been there before, none of the teams have been there before as F2 and F3 are going there for the first time. It will be a big challenge for all of the drivers and teams because you have to do the majority of the work off track to prepare as much as you can before you go on track. We don’t have a lot of Practice time before Quali and we know it’s very important to have a good Quali in Formula 3.

“Before the weekend, I didn’t really expect anything or to at least to be in the top three at the end of the weekend. It was definitely really good; the expectations are just going to keep growing I guess if we continue like this. I was nice to share the podium with Gabriel (Bortoleto) and Oliver (Goethe), but I think it was not really what I expected.

“I just wanted the first weekend be a clean weekend and then to have a baseline, but we have had a very good first weekend. So, I think we have a base, and we want to be better than this every time in the future.”