Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin reflected on securing a front row start at the Bahrain International Circuit for the second round of the FIA Formula 3 season. Back for his second year in the series, the British driver fiercely battled rival Rafael Câmara for pole position. He topped the timesheets before ultimately claiming second place.
Voisin on qualifying results
While “gutted” to have missed out on pole position after his impressive second run, Voisin is happy to have secured P2, especially after a difficult Free Practice.
“Well, I think it’s shoulda, woulda, coulda every time in this Championship,” he told the media, including Pit Debrief, when asked for his thoughts on missing out on pole position.
“It was a good lap. So from my side, I’m not going to sit here and say I would have been on pole because everybody has a side to their story, but I’m happy with the P2.”
“Obviously, a bit gutting to not be on pole after a good second set, after the second run, which was, I guess, a little bit surprising. I struggled a little bit in FP, but we kept digging, and it’s nice to be rewarded.“
Rodin Motorsport have been “working very hard” to solve issues
After struggling in Melbourne, Voisin is pleased to start his Bahrain GP weekend on such a strong note. He noted the hard work put in by himself, his teammates, and all of their Rodin Motorsport team to overcome the issues that they had struggled with in the F3 season opener.
“It’s great. We’ve been working very hard in the background to solve some of the issues we’ve been facing, and my teammates have been pushing me very hard as well, which is great.”
“So it was more just adapting to this new car,” he added.
Voisin focused on “dialing out bad habits” ahead of Bahrain GP
Adapting to the car has been a challenge for some drivers, with F3 using the new 2025 Dallara F3 chassis and a new engine package. Voisin admitted that the 2025 car feels “quite different to drive to what last year’s car was” and stated that “that takes a little bit of getting used to.”
He explained that testing had somewhat masked the differences between the cars, but that these had become clear in Australia, where the difficult conditions had shown his limitations.
“And I think in testing, that was a little bit masked up. You kind of got away with it in a sense, whereas, when it came to Round 1 in Australia, for sure, I did not get away with it.”
“It’s just been dialing out a few bad habits that I had from last year, and dialing in new ones for this car.”
He emphasized the importance of identifying the changes needed and working through them with the team, especially as they improve their competitiveness ahead of the remaining rounds of the 2025 F3 season.
“And you know, maybe it’s a round too late, but at least it’s better late than never.”
“Anything can happen” in Sakhir Round Sprint and Feature Races
Though set to start the Sprint Race from P11 under the reverse-grid conditions, and the Feature Race from P2, Voisin acknowledges that it is difficult to predict the outcome of either race. While he believes that his use of only two sets of tyres could pay off, he acknowledged that F3 races could be unpredictable, especially on tricky circuits.
“You know, we only used two sets of tyres, which was risky, similar to these guys. But, you know, from my side, I feel like we’re in a good spot for the sprint race, and then the feature race will be in a good spot as well.”
“So, no, anything can happen. Sprint races are usually a bit more carnage than the feature, let’s say. So, yeah, anything can happen for sure.”
On providing the best results to the team and the championship
When asked about the importance of his and his team’s confidence going into the Sakhir Round, Voisin described it as “extremely important” after the “tricky” 2024 season
“It’s extremely important,” he said, “Obviously, last year was a tricky year for us, but we kept working harder and harder and kept digging deeper and deeper. In the end, we got rewarded with some good results and some good points.”
Regardless of the outcome of the Bahrain GP weekend, Voisin intends to “keep working hard”, noting that the team deserved his best after giving him the opportunity to race.
“From my side, whatever happens, I just want to keep working hard with the team and give me another opportunity to race this year. From my side, it’s a brilliant result, obviously.”
“Our championship starts this weekend,” he emphasised.
On track conditions and tyre degradation
Despite several drivers losing their lap times as a result of track limit violations, Voisin does not believe that it will be a significant issue affecting his race.
“From my side, to be honest, the track limits are pretty good around here,” he said, in response to a question from Pit Debrief.
“It’s usually slower to go off because the exit curbs are so rough anyway. So it’s not really, I don’t think, an issue around here. Obviously, when we go to other tracks, mostly around Europe, it’s a bit more of a topic. But I think around here it’s pretty much under control.”
With high temperatures expected, Voisin expects that tyre degradation will be “a hot topic” after the Sprint and Feature Races. However, since he and his team have “done their homework,” he feels well prepared for the race ahead.
“We’re in the height of the day for pretty much both races. It’s said to be pretty warm compared to the test as well, so I’m expecting it to be a hot topic. But we’ve done our prep, we’ve done the homework, so I think we’re ready for it.”
“We’ll definitely see the drivers who have trained the hardest,” he quipped.
Co-Author: Shweta Grace Ripley
