Interview
Mari Boya on staying in Formula 3 with his Campos ‘family’ and his hopes for 2025
Mari Boya’s form has improved significantly at the halfway point of his third season in FIA Formula 3, with the Spaniard explaining his Qualifying form was what he had been “struggling with the most” during a disappointing opening couple of rounds.
The Campos Racing driver scored four points in the opening two race weekends – qualifying P23 in Melbourne and P20 in Sakhir – before achieving 32 more at the next three.
This included a third-place finish at the Monte Carlo Feature Race, where Boya lined up in P3, representing the best Qualifying result of his F3 career.
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It was, however, just the xith time in the last season and a half where Boya had qualified inside the top 12 – a statistic that has left him frustrated, particularly as his pace on race day is often excellent.
The Spaniard acknowledges that some of those Qualifying results have been because of his mistakes, like in Bahrain this season where he “didn’t adapt to the conditions”, but others have been because of things beyond his control.
Even still, when Boya spoke in the Imola paddock last month, he refused to blame those bad results on anybody else but himself.
“I don't really believe in bad luck,” Boya says. “I always prefer to see where I can improve, so that I do not repeat something that went wrong. I focus on the things I can change, and that’s what I spend time on.
“I think that's the approach I am going with, so let’s see if it works. What I will tell you is the team are doing an amazing job, they are super confident, which gives me a lot of confidence, and this is helping me deliver.
“At the moment, we are just missing starting the races a bit more at the front. I'm not even asking for a Pole Position, I am just asking for a top six, it's a good place to start both races.
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“I know that the pace is there, so it's just the results, and focusing on quali, that’s the main objective for me. I am not scared of fighting in the top three and for the win.
“If the pace is there in the races, then it's easy, you have many laps to show the pace you have. In quali, it's a bit different, and that's what I am struggling with the most, because of many things, but it is what it is.”
RETURNING FOR ANOTHER SEASON OF F3 WITH HIS FAMILY
Part of Boya’s frustrations are that he wants to repay Campos for their faith in him with the best results possible. But for that to happen, he says the “car needs to be in a higher position”.
The 21-year-old is in his second season with the Spanish team having joined at the start of the 2024 campaign, and he very much feels part of the “family”.
Boya also feels incredibly supported, especially by Team Principal Adrián Campos Jr, who constantly backs him, even when the results have not gone his way. He was also full of praise for the rest of the squad, adamant in his belief that they have reached new levels in 2025 when compared to this time last season.
“Last year was strong,” Boya continues. “But this year, I asked them to work on places on the car where I felt I hadn't had the control. Maybe you never have 100% control of things, but I wanted just a bit more control, and I can already see it.
“Testing in Bahrain was one of the most productive tests I have had in my whole life, so I was confident going to there for the race weekend. That is why qualifying badly there hurt a bit more, because we got many conclusions on aspects that I had wanted to improve.”
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Campos’ growth as a team is also a big reason why Boya chose to stay and do a third season in F3. Reflecting on his decision to return, he reveals that he had wanted to graduate to Formula 2, but a couple of factors stopped him from doing so.
“Initially it wasn't my idea or plan to return,” Boya says. “Last year, at the beginning of the season I was feeling as strong as I am now, but now I know I am stronger than last year.
“The plan was to go up. I felt I was one of the strongest drivers in F3, on potential, but the results didn't show that. I think I want to jump to F2 with my back a bit more covered, with maybe a bit more support, a structure in F1, if it's possible.
“I am waiting to find this but results will help. There are many people in F1 watching, and it's not all about the results. It's the main thing, but they are looking at many things.
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PREPARATION
To help with this, Boya is constantly working on himself. Physically, he can be seen spending a lot of his time away from the track training in the gym or playing a sport, not just to keep fit, but because “it's something I like to do”.
As well as that, the Spanish driver recently enlisted the help of a mental coach, who does not travel with him to the races, but is constantly there to help him deal with the pressures of racing.
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“She is never with me on track but I am constantly writing and telling her how everything is going,” Boya continues. “She is giving me advice about how to react in different situations, especially in F3 after Friday, the weekend more or less can be over, as you only have three laps to qualifying.
“Those three laps must be clean, but they must also be fast as well. But clean and fast together is sometimes hard to do. There is big pressure and you are not alone on track.
“Maybe the car is not as you would love it to be, but you still have to be on point on Friday. It's sometimes a bit hard, but she is giving me good advice. Not only how to work on a weekend, but also how to work when I go to the simulator.
“Also, the techniques I use, I use them when I go to a padel tournament, which I also like a lot outside of racing, and it's helping me.
“I can more or less train what she is telling me to do on something that is not that important, so then when I come to race, it's something that is familiar to me.”
THE FINAL FIVE ROUNDS
Heading into the next five rounds of the season, Boya will be keen to climb up from 12th in the Standings. When talk switches to Championship leaders Rafael Câmara and TRIDENT, he praises the leading pairing but, as one of the more experienced drivers on the grid, he knows there is a long way to go before the final chequered flag of the season in Monza.
“For sure, Câmara has done a good job,” Boya says. “He is a rookie, and TRIDENT for sure have done a good job. Normally, in this category they are really strong, but Câmara is also doing a great job in there.
“The Championship is long, and I’ll tell you, that the guy that will win more it is not the guy that has more luck – it's the one who is most consistent. The objective is to improve on what we have done until now, and then improve, improve, improve.”