Beganovic ready to “add a new title to the table” in 2023

Dino Beganovic will take his first steps in Formula 3 with the team that has supported him since the start of his career in car, Prema. A new challenge for the 2022-year-old FRECA 19 champion: “ It's great to continue with the team, he declared during a interview given to FIA F3. I started at Prema in Formula 4 and it's a good thing to continue the work, especially after last season's success in winning the Formula Regional championship by Alpine, in the Drivers and Manufacturers classification. » A season dominated by the Swede, who trails his runner-up and teammate Paul Aaron by 40 lengths. Italian Gabriele Minì completes the podium, at the wheel of the ART Grand Prix single-seater.

A marriage between the Italian team and the young driver works, making the continuation of their collaboration logical: “ I'm very happy about that and, as everyone knows, Prema has a background in Formula 3 that no team can really match. » Beganovic knows it, he enters the first airlock which leads to the premier category. But nothing to impress him, with his success last year: “ With last season, it's hard not to have high expectations. My goal will be to maintain this momentum and work with the team towards a new title to add to the table. »

The Swede is preparing for this 2023 campaign, particularly with the post-season tests which took place. unfolded as planned ". And the driver did not hide his pleasure at taking the wheel of his future single-seater, while getting to know his new environment: “ The first day it was impossible for me to hide my smile, the car is great to drive. It's quite different from what I've driven before, in Formula 4 and in FRECA. »

Pressure ? “Good motivation” for Beganovic

« There's more power, more downforce, that you can really feel which was the biggest difference for me, he says. You had to get used to carrying a lot more speed than you could imagine. » An adaptation which will have to be done quickly so as not to be “ rust » before the start of the season, while learning days are reduced. This upstream preparation is considered a “ key element » by Beganovic, who chose to also participate in the start of the new FRMEC season. “ This is why we are also doing this championship, to exploit all the possibilities that I have to be fast on the track, He explains. I want to fight for victories. I want to be at my best to fight for the best positions. » And in the Middle East championship, the Swede shines. In Kuwait on January 27, he achieved a second controlled success in a lively race.

But at the dawn of its debut in FIA F3, how to manage the pressure of the status conferred on those who are given as favorites for the title? “ It's good motivation to know that people believe in me and my potential., tempers the pilot. Of course, if you had asked me this question three or four years ago when I started motorsport, I might not have had the same answer. Maybe I would have had more pressure, but I think that, over the years, I have matured as a driver and as a person. I am able to turn this pressure into a good thing. Knowing that someone believes in my potential is only positive »

For this new exercise, Beganovic will once again be accompanied by Paul Aaron, also promoted to the higher category. To complete the Prema trio, the team's choice was sophomore Zak O'Sullivan from the Williams Driver Academy. He finished 11th in the Drivers’ standings for Carlin Racing in 2022. “ It will be cool. Paul and I have been teammates for two years, this will be a third season together. Zak had good results last year, and he is signing up for a second year so he will be fighting for good positions. »

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