Christian Ho on representing Singapore and rookie expectations with DAMS Lucas Oil

10 February 2025

As the first driver from Singapore set to race in FIA Formula 3, Christian Ho feels a great deal of pride ahead of his debut this season, gearing up to race for DAMS Lucas Oil in 2025.

The 18-year-old will partner Matías Zagazeta and Nicola Lacorte at the French team and has fought hard to get to where he is now.

After a 2024 campaign that brought a title bid in Eurocup-3, Ho says he is grateful to step up to F3 and is aiming to make his mark.

“I'm really proud to be part of the grid for this year, considering I'm the first from Singapore to do it, and one of the few Asian drivers to be up at this level. So I’m really proud and really excited for this year.

“Obviously, it wasn't easy to get here just a few years ago. I think I struggled a lot mentally just to keep up with everything that was going on and just making this up to F3. So to be in this position is really good.

“I’m in a new team this year, so it’s very, very different. I’ve met my new engineer and many people in the workshop and have been getting to meet everybody, and so far, it’s been really good.

“The first thing to do will be to get the sim as accurate as possible"

“Everybody is really professional and really nice, it’s a difference vibe to my previous teams. But I’m getting used to it quite quickly and I’m sure that we’ll be ready for the first race.”

Ho says his preparations have been fairly straightforward, with physical preparation the main goal on his side, but work is ongoing at the DAMS workshop in anticipation of the new F3 car.

Ho says the post-season tests were valuable, but calibrating the 2025 simulator is crucial for the team

With an all-new car to learn for both team and driver this year, simulation tools are crucial in order to get on top of the new car and the new Pirelli tyres. That has been just as much of a priority as learning everyone at the team through the winter break.

“I’ve been doing a lot of training overall. I haven’t really hopped on my own sim that much, just because I don’t really like to do that when I’m at home. But I’m on the sim whenever I’m at the workshop which I’m going to much more frequently during this period.

“We’re just trying to get the new car model in to shape ahead of Barcelona, so it’s just a lot of gym and sim prep.

“The first thing to do will be to get used to the new car, both in terms of the sim and trying to get that as accurate as possible and then just working with the team.

“I’m new, so I need to get to know my engineer, he needs to get to know me, what I like with the car and mainly just to get used to everybody around me and the new environment I’m in.”

Though the introduction of a new car and tyres means a steeper learning curve, it’s one of the reasons why Ho wanted to make his F3 debut in 2025.

While the goal is always to progress up the single seater pyramid, the Singaporean ways that the reset may play to his and other rookies’ advantage, as everyone starts from square one in this new era for the Championship.

The Singaporean is aiming for a solid start before ramping up expectations later into the season

“It was one of the reasons I wanted to step up this year. I’m part of a new team as well as in a new Championship, so it won’t be super easy for us, but it’s the same for everybody else.

“I’m sure that as long as the team does their job and I do mine, we’ll be able to have a good enough car for the first races.

“I’m a rookie so I’ll be learning as I go, I’m sure that as long as I’m always open to learning and learning new things, I’ll be good. It’s a new car for everybody so it’s an even playing field.”

Refocusing on the upcoming pre-season test in Barcelona and the early rounds of the 2025 campaign, Ho says he will be aiming to build up his confidence early on.

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If he and the team can find their rhythm, then the expectations will go up, but the end goal is always to remain in contention and that means solid Qualifying results to stay in the mix in the reverse grid Sprint and Sunday’s Feature Races.

“I think my target for this year, or at least early on in the season, is to just be consistent. Every single race I want to be up there, ideally in the top 10 and scoring points consistently.

“That’s the first target and then maybe after the first three rounds, if I’m up there then I can try to get some podiums to get into a rhythm.

“Looking at last year and the past few years, I think consistency has been the most important thing in F3. I don’t think you necessarily have to be winning every race, but just trying to be up there in the top five every single race.

“That’s my target and as long as we do the right things, I’m sure we’ll be up there.”