Ahead of this weekend’s round at the historic Monaco circuit, Feeder Series spoke to Laurens van Hoepen, Nikita Bedrin, and Gabriele Minì about how they are preparing for one of the most challenging tracks on the calendar.

By Tori Turner

Formula 3 is due to have its sophomore trip around the streets of Monaco this weekend, marking the fourth round of the 2024 season. Known as one of the most difficult tracks on the calendar for junior drivers to master, the circuit’s narrow streets, tight corners, and limited run-off areas make it extremely unforgiving of any driver errors.

Many drivers on the current grid have never raced on these streets before and will experience their first taste of Monte Carlo during Thursday’s limited practice session. With only forty-five minutes on the clock before they are split into two groups for Friday’s qualifying, running time will be critical if they want to succeed this weekend.

Using the simulator

Preparation is key to mastering all 19 turns and 3.337 km of Circuit de Monaco, which features the slowest corner of any track the F3 drivers visit throughout the year. When asked about their preparation, many drivers talked about how they have been putting in laps on the simulator to get ready for the weekend ahead. 

“I think the main key to this track is to be quite on from the beginning. Of course, take margins so you don’t crash the car in the first lap but at least don’t start too far,” ART Grand Prix driver Laurens van Hoepen told Feeder Series, emphasising the importance of maintaining focus on such a demanding circuit. “So in order to do that, I think it’s important to do a lot of laps on the sim to really make sure that you actually know the insides and outs of the track and you can get started directly on the correct way.”

AIX Racing’s Nikita Bedrin agreed with van Hoepen’s words, highlighting the overall importance of acclimatising to the track on the simulator. Bedrin also finds looking back on past races useful to further his insight. 

“And of course, it’s important to watch the videos from the previous years of racing here to have an idea of what others are doing and to be on that straight away from when you start driving because you cannot do any testing here. You just have to be fully prepared and on it when you come here.”

The importance of tyres

Alongside sharing the others’ thoughts on simulator preparation, last year’s polesitter and feature race winner Gabriele Minì pointed out that gathering information and monitoring tyres during the singular practice session will be a crucial part of the weekend. 

“Because of the tyre peak you have when here, you want to try and get as [much] information as you can. You want to try and get it even if you get blocked one lap, you want to try and learn in all the other corners that you’re not blocked. It’s just another way to approach it,” he told Feeder Series, outlining his thought process for making the most of the session. “But in the end, you still want to be the fastest by the end of FP. So, I’ll take a margin but not too much.” 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency