Liam Sceats was in strong form to end the Formula Regional Oceania season, taking three wins in the last two rounds – including the New Zealand GP. Feeder Series analyses his winter campaign and reveals what could be next in the Kiwi driver’s career.

By Juan Arroyo

As we finish setting up our Zoom call, Liam Sceats says the victory hasn’t quite sunk in yet. Earlier this month, the 18-year-old won the renowned New Zealand Grand Prix, leading all 27 laps in dominant fashion.

“The New Zealand Grand Prix is huge, it’s a national pride here. To be a Kiwi from New Zealand and win it, it’s very special,” Sceats told Feeder Series.

Winning an event of this magnitude – especially as a native of the country – has earned him recognition from Kiwi drivers higher up the ladder. The 18-year-old said he had received congratulatory messages from Red Bull F1 reserve Liam Lawson and Formula E driver Nick Cassidy.

“Having known him [since] I was in go karts, I actually got to talk to him at round three in Hampton Downs, so seeing his message, that was cool,” Sceats said of Lawson.

That race weekend was the strongest Sceats has looked in Formula Regional Oceania. Some would argue he couldn’t have left it for a better occasion.

Entering the last of a five-round season, Sceats was involved in a title battle with M2 Competition teammate Roman Bilinski. The Polish driver dominated the four rounds that preceded the Grand Prix, with victories in six out of 12 races. While Sceats was mathematically in with a fighting chance going into the grand prix weekend, the 58-point deficit to Bilinski looked near-impossible to overcome.

Sceats secured pole for the first race and then for the Grand Prix in Saturday qualifying. Bilinski originally held first place in the first qualifying session, but he was demoted three places for crashing out of the session and subsequently causing a red flag. Bilinski would start the first race fourth and the Grand Prix in 12th.

Sceats converted pole to a lights-to-flag victory in the first race while Bilinski finished third, temporarily keeping the New Zealand driver in the title fight. However, in the reverse grid race – where he would start eighth in virtue of his earlier victory – Sceats languished in ninth place while Bilinski made his way up to third. By then, the possibility of a title was mathematically wiped out.

However, the Grand Prix still remained, and Sceats would start in the best position to win it.

For 27 laps, the New Zealand driver went virtually unchallenged. Callum Hedge in second provided for some excitement by setting near-identical lap times to Sceats in the early and middle stages of the race. However, Hedge was never near enough to attempt an overtake and, by the end, had dropped to several seconds behind the leading Sceats.

Speaking to Stephen McIvor in the post-race interview, Sceats said, “At the start of the season, I thought we were a little bit unlucky not to get some better results, but to come on strong at the end of the season, it makes it feel very sweet.”

The 18-year-old ended the season in much stronger form than he started. It took until the final race of the fourth round for him to claim his first victory in the series. He claimed an additional podium that weekend, and went on to secure the two victories in the final round at Highlands Motorsport Park.

That’s not to say Sceats’ opening to the season was bad by any means; he, Bilinski, and Christian Mansell were the clear frontrunners after two rounds. However, had Sceats started on the same form as he had over the Grand Prix weekend – the only round where he outscored Bilinski – his chances at the title heading into the final race would have been worlds better.

“I think we were a little bit unlucky in the first three rounds of the championship, not to have a win or two under our belt, but I guess it just fell into place. We found strong form in the last two rounds of the championship, I think. The confidence on the Pirelli and working with the team, it grew stronger,” Sceats told Feeder Series.

“There was no magic recipe that we came up with overnight to be able to start winning races. It kind of just happened.”

Beyond what Sceats may consider bad luck, there is evidence to suggest that he may have been held back by having to adjust to the series’ new Pirelli tyres. He noted to Feeder Series before the fourth round how the championship’s switch to the Italian manufacturer negated some of his previous experience in the series.

South Korean manufacturer Hankook was Formula Regional Oceania’s tyre supplier during Sceats’ rookie season in 2023. That agreement was supposed to follow into this year, but when one of Hankook’s factories in the city of Daejeon was destroyed by a fire, the manufacturer was forced to cut their supply to many championships, including FROC.

With no prior experience on Pirelli tyres, Sceats would inevitably be forced into a learning curve, as these have different characteristics to the Hankooks he was used to. Meanwhile, drivers coming over from Europe – Bilinski from FRECA, Michael Shin from GB3, among others – were already familiar with these characteristics, as the Italian manufacturer supplies many junior series in the region.

Ironically, it was that very switch that helped him pull away from Callum Hedge in the closing stages of the New Zealand GP.

“I had a bit of an advantage compared to [Hedge] because this was his first weekend on the Pirelli’s,” Sceats said. Hedge featured in M2 Competition’s line-up alongside Sceats last winter. He later competed in Formula Regional Americas, which also used Hankook tyres in 2023.

“As I found out at round one at Taupo, you know, they’re different to what me and him know compared to last season on the Hankook. In the race, he was quick for the first half of the race and he kept the pressure on.

“[…] I was confident that eventually, he would drop off. I mean, I was praying as well. I was hoping that he would because he was right there. And sure enough, he just kind of started slowly dropping back,” Sceats added.

Sceats took the chequered flag 5.6 seconds ahead of Hedge, which, by this year’s margins in FROC, is certainly a comfortable lead.

The strong finish to the season helped him cement his place in the standings as runner-up. Sceats’ final tally was of three wins, five additional podiums, and two pole positions. The bulk of those came from the third round onwards.

Sceats finished on 341 points, 44 points behind title-winner Bilinski. The pair’s dominance is evident in their gap to the rest of the field: Sceats was 86 points ahead of third-place Patrick Woods-Toth after the New Zealand GP, equivalent to two feature race wins and a reverse grid race third-place podium.

He made sure to mention the Polish driver while speaking on the confidence this campaign has given him ahead of the regular season. “This championship is super beneficial. For me, being a Kiwi, being able to race very good international drivers like Roman Bilinski gives me an advantage and an opportunity to learn from them,” the 18-year-old said.

“The future is actually uncertain for me in terms of my racing but, going forward, I feel very confident.”

What’s next for Sceats?

Sceats’ 2024 racing plans remain unconfirmed, but the 18-year-old is actively pursuing a USF Pro 2000 seat.

He recently tested with TJ Speed Motorsports at New Orleans Motorsport Park, only days after finishing the FROC season, as well as appearing in this week’s USF Pro 2000 Spring Training test with the same outfit.

Sceats’ first outing with TJ Speed was in the USF Pro Championships Fall Combine in October 2023, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While discussions for a seat are ongoing, a final deal is yet to be signed.

Header photo credit: Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ