Tóth confident he’s back to his best after Le Castellet absence

Entering the second half of the season, László Tóth would ideally like to have a point to his name by now, but after testing positive for COVID-19 in June and missing not just the Le Castellet race weekend, but also a crucial period away from the gym, the Hungarian is just glad to be back in peak condition.

Unable to even use a simulator, Tóth lost some of the progress that had been made in the opening event. Returning to his Campos Racing machinery for the third and fourth rounds in Spielberg and Budapest, Toth now feels that he is back up to speed, both physically and mentally.

“I missed Paul Ricard, so I’ve only done three rounds so far in this Championship, but I think that I have taken a step forward,” said Tóth. “Things just keep getting better and better.

“The time that I spent not driving was quite a lot and it was tough. I tested positive and couldn’t travel anywhere, so that meant that I couldn’t go to the factory to practice on the sim, it meant that I couldn’t use the gym and there were several other small things that happened as a result that was not really helpful for me.

I have tried to move forward and forget about it. Once I was able to leave my home and travel again, I immediately went to the factory. I was able to use the gym there, the sim and do all of my preparation. I have managed to get back to the same level that I was at beforehand.”

After enjoying his strongest round of the season so far in Austria, the 21-year-old suffered a rather frustrating race weekend in his home country, finishing 27th and 23rd in Races 1 and 2, before retiring from the final race at the Hungaroring.

Tóth has plenty of experience at Formula 4 level, having competed in UAE, Italian, Spanish, SMP and ADAC F4. Stepping up to Formula Renault in 2020, he ran for just one season in the Championship before joining Campos in Formula 3 and knew that the learning curve would be steep.

A completely different standard to anything he has driven before, Tóth is pleased with his progress so far.

“Being at events with all of the other Championships, with Formula 1, and getting to drive on the same track on the same weekend as them is a fantastic feeling,” continued Tóth.

“Of course, there are aspects that are more challenging than others, like handling the tyers and getting used to DRS – that was all new to me. The cars are completely different to what I have driven before too.

“But these are all really good things because they help me to learn and improve. I haven’t found any negative points so far. I will be spending more time at the factory, with the engineers, and more time on the sim before Spa. Physically, I am trying to get into even better shape. I will be pushing myself as much as possible to get to the limit.”