Rashid Al Dhaheri: 'We are working well already' as he assesses VAR post-season work

Rashid Al Dhaheri is hopeful that he can get up to speed quickly in FIA Formula 3 in 2027. Already confirmed at Van Amersfoort Racing, he is looking to learn as much as possible ahead of his full race debut in the Championship next year.

As the only rookie that's part of the 2027 Van Amersfoort's F3 lineup, Al Dhaheri is hoping to leverage his teammates' experience in the Championship.

As the Emirati driver prepares for his rookie campaign, he says he will be leaning on the team and teammates in order to have a solid foundation going into the new campaign.

"It's quite a step from last year, so it will be very exciting to get to know the team, to get things together and start working. I think the work is going in the right direction and I'm happy with the choices we've made.

"There's a lot of experience for me to gain. At this moment, it's just about learning, understanding, and using my teammates who are second-year drivers, to gain as much as I can from them, and I think at the end, the performance is there.

"So we're starting from a strong point, we just need to build from here. The lap times and the positions and the tests don't mean anything. It's just what we get out of it, which is the key. That's where our focus is.

"The team is very important, so the team will and they are giving some really good information.
"At the end of the day as well, it's important to kind of make mistakes or kind of try things now so that later in the season, you already know what's going to happen or you're able to anticipate certain things.

"Both are key, the team, the overall experience and just learning a bit from the drivers and teammates."

Having participated in both post-season test's the Van Amersfoort driver says that he has already got to grips with the biggest differences in terms of machinery at his disposal.

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Compared to what he's driven so far, Al Dhaheri says that the F3 car presents new challenges, particularly in relation to tyres and tyre management. He says that taking care of the Pirelli rubber is a crucial element to learn.

"Driving-wise, it's a car like any other. There's four wheels, an engine and a steering wheel.

"The main difference is on the execution, how you get the job done with the warm-up of the tyres and how you can bring them into the window and actually use them in that window.

"It's all about the tyres, that's the biggest difference. There's some tyre degradation, so it becomes a little bit more complex, but the fundamentals stay the same, which I think is positive. You just need to fine-tune them."

With a few months off now to prepare for the 2027 campaign, the Mercedes Junior Team driver is focused on maximising his winter break to be as prepared as possible for the new season.

That will include mental and physical preparations, before diving back into the data ahead of pre-season testing early next year.

"I don't really like time off, so I'll be getting as many days as possible doing something. But yeah,you want to develop physically just to make sure that you're at the right point.

"Also mentally, you need to get ready for the season, understanding what the key points to focus on are.

"Then, of course, technically, try to do a bit of sim work, really getting the ideas, studying, and then the exam starts only when you get back in the car."