The FRECA season is fully underway after the fourth round held at the Hungaroring in Budapest. Currently competing are the three young drivers Nikhil (19), Nikita (18), and Valerio (17). A group with the same goal: to prove they are the best driver. We sat down with our three FRECA drivers during our home race in Zandvoort.
When being active in a single-seater ladder championship, there is one thing to expect from everyone competing: hungry to perform. “Well yes, we are competitive with each other, but there still is respect when driving on track as well as on the sim (where they just came from in Tilburg)”, says Valerio. The statement is met with laughter from the others. They know one another well, due to competing in similar karting championships. Nikhil and Nikita have raced each other in a previous season (ADAC F4, Italian F4, and UAE F4), but not as teammates.
Accelerating their talent
Valerio is the youngest of the bunch, as well as the only rookie of MP. He is glad to have so much experience surrounding him, coming from Formula 4. “It’s a tricky step to take, so I’m in a great position to have Nikhil and Nikita to help me. My ambitions are big, it’s my first season in FRECA and I hope to be promoted to Formula 3 in 2025.” Nikita, who’s doing a double campaign this year, has experience in driving in Formula 3. Switching from a F3 car to a FRECA one comes with its complications. “The brakes are different than an F3 car, which sometimes makes the switch weird and difficult. Testing is a good way to adjust, after like three laps I feel like I have the car under control.”
Nikhil, having driven with us in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship earlier this year, has started his season “not too bad” according to him. “There is room for improvement. I feel like I have improved compared to the last FRECA season, but some things were just not clicking. The step into a FRECA car was overwhelming”, to say the least, according to Nikhil. “You really must adjust to get into FRECA as a rookie, because everybody dives into a corner at once. You must get your race pace right which wasn’t easy in my first season, but right now it’s just finetuning before every new track and I feel more confident.”
FRECA car
The general view of a FRECA car is that it’s a difficult car to drive. There have been some changes to the car to make it easier to turn and make it more accessible, but the handling is still tricky. “Your muscles in your arms really must be able to turn the steering wheel”, is something all drivers agree on. Nikhil says: “Physical training is included in everyone’s training schedule, but it’s not that you really must become stronger to become a better driver. If your arms can handle the steering and you keep that certain strength, you’ll be fine.”
Favourite moment
All three drivers had packed careers until now. They do have their favourite moment so far. For Valerio, it was the UAE F4 Championship that was a cool experience, despite finishing the season as fourth. Nikhil: It’s hard to choose one specific moment, but something that was a highlight for me, was getting a podium in FRECA in my debut race last year. Nikita mentions his first podium in Formula 3 last season. “It was Hungaroring last year, followed by a podium at Spa as well, with my teammate Alex Garcia behind me (saying with a grin). He is my hero haha, as you can read on my driver card.”
The season itself consists of ten rounds, covering multiple different tracks. If it was up to Nikhil to choose his favourite, it would be Mugello. “My first time driving in an open-wheel racecar was on that track, so I always feel good and have great rhythm.” Coincidentally the next round will be held there. They are looking forward to keeping on improving and finishing as high as possible this season.
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