In Profile: Noel León

Van Amersfoort Racing rookie Noel León is beginning to find his feet in Formula 3, earning a podium and top five finish in the most recent two rounds.

It’s about time we got to know the Mexican driver better, as he details some of his racing memories, how he relaxes away from the track and how inspirational Sergio Perez has been on his career.

FIRST RACING MEMORY

“My first racing memory will be when I was five years old. It was a race in my hometown on my birthday. My father gifted me a go-kart and then I was off to do my first race. To be honest, I was waiting until I was five to be able to compete and have a kart. I had already asked for a go-kart, and my dad had said when I was five I could have one.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RACING STYLE?

“To be honest, a little bit smooth but aggressive at the same time. I love to do overtakes from a fair distance back, but overall smooth. Especially in F3, it’s a bit difficult because you need to have good tyre management and if you do moves all the time, you destroy the tyres. It makes it a bit more difficult, but you can still do some fun overtakes.”

WHO IS YOUR RACING HERO?

“My racing hero is Sergio Perez. I really like Checo, and I think our careers have been quite similar. It’s incredible to watch him at the top of F1. I started watching when he was in for a few years, around 11 or 12, I remember him in the orange and white cars, the Force India ones.”

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST RACING ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR?

“My biggest racing achievement would be the Euroformula Championship last year. It’s the biggest moment in my career so far. To be in my second year in Europe and to win a Championship gave me a lot of confidence for this year so hopefully I can continue to put it all together and do well this year too.”

READ MORE: Street food, summer and city life: Noel León on his hometown of Monterrey

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A RACING DRIVER?

“You’re a racing driver! I like it a lot, it’s my passion, I like the traveling, the work with the team, the racing especially. I really enjoy it. Sometimes the flights can be too long though.”

HOW DO YOU RELAX AWAY FROM RACING?

“I never relax away from racing. My dad has a racing team in Mexico in go karts so every time I’m not racing, I’m there in the kart or doing something related to racing.

DO YOU HAVE A SECRET TALENT?

“Nope! I’m good at racing and that’s about it. When I was younger I played a lot of soccer but then I chose racing.”

READ MORE: 2024 rookie report so far: Early contenders and points to improve

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TRACK ON THE F3 CALENDAR?

“Australia is really fun. I was really excited to go there and discover the city. Red Bull Ring is also really special because I did a really good race there last year too.”