Interview
It was a Formula 3 season of two halves for Callum Voisin in 2024, but one that the Rodin Motorsport rookie is delighted by especially because he achieved his goal of winning a race.
Voisin’s year got off to a slow start as he did not score any points in the first six rounds. However, his form turned around during his home race weekend at Silverstone, where he scored points in both races, finishing third in the Feature.
He would go on to achieve points in six of the last eight races, which included a Feature Race victory at Spa-Francorchamps from Pole Position, before finishing 12th in the Standings with 67 points.
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“Overall, 2024 was a very good year,” reflected Voisin. “To be honest I was pretty happy with how everything went. I think we went in a little bit under prepared which I guess kind of reflected our first half of the season.
“But once I got to grips with everything and we got things thrown our way a little bit more, we started running in the points and fighting at the sharp end.
“For a rookie year, to have two podiums, a Feature Race win and a pole, I think I can be pretty happy with that and I just want to build on that.”
The British driver cited the tyres as a big area of concern for him to start the year, he was forced to learn quickly how best to prepare them for qualifying and how to manage them in the races.
But he says things eventually clicked and looking at the results, it would be easy to assume that light bulb moment came at Silverstone.
However, Voisin revealed that it came at Round 3 in Imola after the in-season test in Barcelona, even though he spun into the gravel during Qualifying and finished without points.
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“I think initially where I clicked was Imola,” he revealed. “I think Round 3 was when I bumped it up a gear and Imola and Monaco both pace wise was actually very good. I just made some mistakes which prevented me from any points.
“Then we had a few races that were a bit up and down but then Silverstone obviously happened, that's why I think it was overdue.
“I do think the first two rounds we could not fight for points initially but probably from Imola onwards we definitely should have got a few a bit earlier. So definitely overdue but at least when they came in, they were good points.”
Prior to Silverstone, his best result was in the Monte Carlo Sprint Race when he finished in P12. So, his performance at the British venue when he finished fourth in the Saturday dash and third in the Feature certainly caught the eye.
Even though a penalty cost him victory on Sunday after he crossed the line first, Voisin was not too downbeat about that, instead happy to be back fighting at the front.
“I loved it, it was great,” said Voisin on fighting at the front. “I'd been fighting in the lower half of the top 20 and in the high teens, that was what I had been doing for most of the year and to suddenly be right up at the sharp end, I kind of proved to myself that I could do it and it wasn't far away.
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“It gave everybody an extra boost of motivation and to do it in my home race, the crazy Feature Race, I was happy with my performance. I was the one to stay on slicks throughout the whole race, I had led the slick runners the whole race.
“I didn't make any mistakes and we were fast as well, so I was happy. Obviously, a bit disappointed with the penalty but that's racing sometimes.”
That win did come at Spa a few rounds later when, starting from pole, he took his and Rodin's first ever F3 victory. In slippery conditions, he dealt with three Safety Car restarts well, keeping Sebastián Montoya at bay.
“It was incredible,” reflected Voisin. “That whole weekend was so good. It was mixed conditions the whole time, it was probably one of the trickiest conditions I've had, both the Sprint and Feature Race.
“But we were on a mission, I wanted to win, I didn't want to end the year without the win is what I said at the start of the year. So, to get the Feature Race win in front of all the other Championship contenders and dominate the weekend in a way was very special.
“I had three safety car restarts to do, and especially Spa it has that huge run down to Les Combes, so I was aware of it and I knew that the restart had to be perfect every single time because if not I would be so vulnerable going to Les Combes.
“It was difficult to hang on but we managed. Obviously, every restart got harder and harder, Seb knew what I was trying to do and how I was trying to catch him out so to get the team's first ever win was very emotional and a pretty cool moment, I still remember it like it was yesterday.”
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As he reflected on 2024 one final time, Voisin says his form to end the year was a sign that he and the team are capable of consistently battling for the top positions.
“In Monza, we were fast from the get-go yet again,” he concluded. “I just made a mistake in quali which hampered the whole weekend but from a performance point of view we were fast again.
“Certainly, in the second half of the season, everything just gelled and it gave me a good confidence boost that I can beat all these guys.”