In early January, Noel León found himself at the toughest point of his career. He had just announced that he would no longer be supported by the Red Bull Junior Team after a disappointing rookie campaign in the Formula Regional European Championship – all in his first season overseas. Six months later, the tables have turned: León is leading the Euroformula Open championship by 17 points halfway through the season.

By Juan Arroyo

“It’s been a really good season so far now,” León said. “It’s been a great season.

The Motopark driver is justified in describing his campaign so far that way. Three pole positions and three wins have him as the man to beat after four rounds. With dominant performances throughout – especially in Spa-Francorchamps, where he took three consecutive podiums – he has been the class of the field as a rookie.

A difficult FRECA season with Arden

It’s a largely different picture from this time last year. Languishing in the latter end of the FRECA standings, Noel León had accrued just two points finishes in 12 races. His Arden Motorsport teammates, Eduardo Barrichello and Joshua Duerksen, hadn’t found much better form by then. But when their form started to pick up towards the end of the season and León’s did not, The Mexican driver knew his time with the Red Bull Junior Team was ending.

Barrichello and Duerksen ended the season 11th and 14th in the standings, respectively, with 91 points combined. León finished 23rd with just three points.

“I knew that I was not going to continue with the academy. The Red Bull Academy is like that,” León said, describing its ruthless nature. “It was a really tough year for me, my first year in Europe. I think the preparation for the big year that was coming for my career was not enough. Pre-season testing in Barcelona and that’s it.

“And then we go to the season so most of the drivers [are doing] their second or third season in the championship. So obviously it’s not ideal to start a season like that. We put everything together but it was not enough. Only in Monaco we did a really good job,” León said, referring to the race weekend where he had both of his points finishes.

Regarding his reaction to the news, León voiced his frustration about an unmet promise: “I was really disappointed. When I signed my contract, they told me they are going to put me in a top three team.”

Arden Motorsport finished seventh in the teams’ championship, more than 200 points behind the top three made of PREMA Racing, R-ace GP and ART Grand Prix. When it came time to decide his 2023 plans, León’s support system opted for the championship that could provide the most experience from their point of view.

Shifting gears to EFO

“After I talked with my manager and my family, everybody was like ‘no, no, no, no, we need to still push (…) so let’s go for a championship that you can get as many laps as possible and is still going.’ So that’s why we went to [Euroformula Open], because it’s a lot of track time.”

León described the car as “mega to drive” and Euroformula Open as a championship where lots of learning is possible. “It’s what we did this year.”

His quick adaptation to the car has been evident since winter testing in Barcelona, where he topped three of the six sessions over the two days.

“From the preseason testing, I was really fast. We were already expecting to be in the fight for the lead of the championship. To be honest, it’s been a really good season with my engineer, with all my teammates and Motopark. So yeah, I’m really happy.”

This pace has led to eight podiums in 12 races, the most of any driver in the field. However, the Motopark driver’s winning formula comes on Saturdays, during the all-important qualifying sessions.

“We are really fast in both conditions, but I think especially with the Pirelli it’s really important to put everything prepared correctly,” says León, adding that his previous experience with the Italian brand’s tyres has aided him so far. “I prepare the tyre and then when I want to push, the tyre is ready.”

Maintaining his championship lead

Notwithstanding his consistent performances thus far, León’s championship lead could have been larger, had it not been for a collision with Francesco Simonazzi in the first race at Le Castellet. After León started from pole position, the incident forced both drivers out of the race.

Chasing for the lead, León overtook Simonazzi on the inside of Turn 1 before the BVM driver attempted an unsuccessful switchback into Turn 2. Turn 3 is preceded by a left-hand kink in the middle of a straight. In the run-up to the corner, Simonazzi – who had positioned his car on the far left side of the track – clipped Noel León’s rear left tyre, subsequently sending the Motopark driver into the barriers to the left of the straight. The BVM driver retired from the race shortly after with suspension damage.

León attributes the blame for the incident equally: “It’s a little bit 50-50%: 50 for me, 50 for Simonazzi […] I didn’t realise that he was already there. I was just following the track, you know? Everybody knows that Paul Ricard [veers] a little bit to the left,” he said.

“But it’s part of racing. To win the championship I need to stay a little bit calm to score points because [there are] only 10 cars. Everybody scores points, so it’s quite difficult to get a gap to be consistently in the top three.”

Le Castellet was the only event that León failed to win at so far. His retirement in Race 1, coupled with a single second-placed podium, meant his points lead was slashed from 42 points to 17 points in a single weekend. The Motopark driver is confident he can rebuild that margin.

“I’m still 17 points ahead. The first part of the season we put, I think, 37 points to Bryce [Aron]. So I think we can do [it] one more time. You just need to stay calm, keep doing the hard work and we will get it there.”

León has not yet finalised his plans for next year; however, given the year that has passed since his disastrous FRECA campaign, it’s highly likely he will be looking to move up the ladder.

Header photo credit: Euroformula Open