Rodin Motorsport driver Joseph Loake achieved the best results of his rookie Formula 3 season in Monaco, scoring points in both the sprint and feature race. Feeder Series spoke to Loake about his impressive performances ahead of the next round in Barcelona. 

By Tori Turner

Loake had a tough start to his rookie season in F3, failing to reach a points position in the first three rounds of the championship. A similar pattern of performance also hindered his two Rodin Motorsport teammates, Piotr Wiśnicki and Callum Voisin, who have yet to score points themselves. 

“We’d had a pretty tricky season up to now. Just finding the pace mainly. It’s been tricky to kind of get up to speed for me,” Loake told Feeder Series. Before the fourth round of the championship, his highest finish in a race had been 14th.

Looking ahead to Monaco – a complex street circuit that challenges all junior drivers – it appeared as if there would be no change in results for the team.

Despite having not driven there previously, something clicked for Loake around the streets of Monte Carlo. By the end of the race weekend, he had amassed eight points after securing points in both of the two races, giving himself and Rodin their first points of the season.

Loake’s performance in group B in qualifying assisted him in achieving his results in the two races. With a fastest lap of 1:25.443 – only five tenths off the pole-sitter – he placed fourth in his group and eighth on the grid for the feature race. When reversed for the format used on Saturday’s sprint races, it placed him in a perfect position to score points. 

In a sprint race full of incidents, safety cars and even a red flag, Loake was able to keep calm in the middle of the points positions. He was able to maintain a close gap to Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel León ahead of him, ultimately finishing the race where he started in fifth and bringing home six points. 

Sunday’s feature race was more eventful for the British driver, allowing him to showcase the level of expertise and skill which landed him a seat this season. Keeping his position off the starting line, it would take Loake six laps before he made an inside move on Mari Boya around Rascasse, moving himself up into seventh. 

The battle with Boya continued on Lap 13 when the Spanish driver continued to put pressure on him from behind until Loake locked up in the Nouvelle chicane. Initially keeping ahead of Boya, Loake was later given orders from his team to let Boya ahead of him in case of a penalty. He remained in eighth until the closing stages of the race, when Tim Tramnitz overtook him after another move on Boya was unsuccessful.

Finishing ninth gave Loake a further two points, something he considered impressive given his past results.

“Getting the points in Monaco is really, really nice. It’s got us off the mark, where we now kind of know what we’re doing as well. We know what works, what can work, what also doesn’t work as we found in the start of the year,” he told Feeder Series. “As long as we can keep building on those results and scoring more points, I think it’ll be pretty cool.”

Looking ahead to this weekend and beyond, Loake said he was still looking to improve his results after earning his first points of the season.

“I finished P5 in the sprint, but I’m not on the podium yet. I’ve not won a race yet. I don’t really care about points if it’s not P1. I just want to keep pushing, keep on improving, especially as a team as well.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency