With less than 24 hours before the first official session of the 2024 FIA Formula 3 season, drivers are now fine-tuning their preparation, with some of them ready to compete with their new team for the first time. Christian Mansell is one of them. The Australian driver has left Campos Racing to join ART Grand Prix for his second year in the series, and after a promising rookie campaign, he is ready to take on a more prominent role in the championship. Together with other selected media, Feeder Series spoke to the Australian right before the start of the season in Bahrain.

By Daniele Spadi

With two Formula 3 podiums to his name, Mansell is eager to get back out there in 2024, especially now that a new challenge awaits him. The 19-year-old has joined ART, a team that has enjoyed a lot of success in the championship’s history, including a drivers’ title with Victor Martins back in 2022.

Though the French outfit failed to live up to its successful standards last season, finishing a disappointing eighth in the teams’ standings, the Australian is confident that the team can once again be a force to be reckoned with in F3. 

“I finished P12 last year in the championship, and now with ART, I want to bring them back to where they belong,” he said. “That’s another goal of mine, obviously, to do that team well because I have a lot of faith in them.”

A new home

Switching teams definitely comes with a few challenges: understanding a new car, getting to know the engineers and the mechanics and trying to settle in as quickly as possible. Mansell has already had a few months to do that with ART, between testing and the Macau Grand Prix last November. 

“It’s a very interesting question because the two cars couldn’t be more opposite if they tried in some aspects,” the Australian told Feeder Series when asked about the main differences he noticed between Campos and ART so far.

“There’s definitely also the fact that Spanish and French [teams], they operate differently, and getting used to the way that [ART] run things to how Campos run things – neither for the worse or better – it’s just different. And I think that was just the biggest part of changing teams.”

The Australian also opened up about how tough this challenge can prove to be. 

“It’s a bit of a stressful time,” Mansell told Feeder Series. “You don’t know how different it’s going to be, you’re trying to anticipate the changes and how to drive the car, [having a] new engineer, meeting new people, and you know, new expectations going into the team as well.”

Despite that, the Australian looked to be settling in pretty nicely throughout the off-season,  a feeling he confirmed to Feeder Series ahead of the first race weekend of the season. 

“It’s been a good adjusting period,” he said. “I feel very comfortable, especially within the team. I really enjoy the team environment.”

High expectations

The 19-year-old now has a full year of F3 racing behind him, and with a new season come new expectations. 

“My real goal is to be at the top, everyone’s goal is that, but realistically, I think it’s just trying to maximize the absolute best performance out of the ART car and myself. Wherever I finish, as long as I’ve got the maximum out of the car, then I can leave here or every single round happy.”

Mansell also talked about what he has learned thanks to the experience he gathered in 2023, which will for sure be of help in his second season in the championship. 

“Be patient, because F3 has a way of being unpredictable,” he told Feeder Series when asked about the most important lesson he had learned throughout his rookie campaign. 

“But once you’re out on track, you just have to be patient and adapt, try your best not to overthink it and just drive. At the end of the day, it is still a race car, and it is just a race, but definitely a crazy one at that.”

About the possibilities of taking ART back to the top of the standings, Mansell sounded pretty confident in the team’s capability of doing so. 

“They already have a track record of being a very, very quick team. and I’m looking to keep it that way,” he said. “They’ve come back with a big purpose and a big push to sort of get back to where they belong. […] I truly believe that the car is competitive, and I feel competitive, which is the main thing. But now we feel good, we feel ready.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency