Mansell aiming to end 2024 with no regrets ahead of Monza title decider

Christian Mansell’s preparations for the final round of the season in Monza are in full swing, with ART Grand Prix driver one of seven that could leave the Temple of Speed as the Drivers’ Champion.

The Australian heads to Round 10 sixth in the Standings with 97 points, but trails Championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli by 32 points.

Mansell admits it would take a lot going in his favour for him to win the title, but he is keen to do what he aimed for all season, which is to drive his #23 car to the best of his abilities.

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“I am feeling pretty good,” started Mansell. “I feel quite excited to go down to Monza, always a nice, exciting round, so I am looking forward to it.

“To be honest, the likelihood of me winning the title is low, and that's fine with me. So, I am pretty much going to approach it the same as any other weekend to be honest, just try and score the maximum amount of points and that is going to put me in a good position regardless.”

It has been a bit of a difficult spell for Mansell since finishing third in the Spielberg Sprint and fourth in the Feature Race.

A point-less outing at Silverstone followed and while he did score points in both Budapest races, he went without scoring once again at Spa-Francorchamps.

Mansell says he and ART understand why the results went the way they did, with bad luck at Silverstone and struggles with the Medium tyre at Spa behind both results. Despite those setbacks, he is still happy with how the season has gone.

“It's been good,” said Mansell reflecting on his 2024 campaign. “I am pretty happy with how this season has gone. I think if we managed to understand the Medium tyre, we would have been in a different position Championship wise which kind of sucks, but it is what it is. I am in the position I am in now and I don't regret anything.”

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Part of what Mansell also does not regret is the fact that he has still not won a Formula 3 race. He admits that it is still something he thinks about, but he would be okay if it does not happen at Monza.

“I am not too fussed if he does not happen,” he said. “If it does, then I would be absolutely over the moon. It's still a factor in my mind that I haven't won a race yet, I've got second, I've got third, I've covered every spot on the podium, I've got pole, I've got fastest laps, it's just haunting me at this point.

“If it happens, it happens, it's fate at the end of the day, you need a bit of luck and if it happens, I will be over the moon and celebrating like I won the world cup but if it doesn't there is still no regrets.”

Mansell’s preparations with ART will start soon with the next steps being to get up to speed as quickly as possible for a Monza circuit that will look slightly different to the one he raced at in 2023.

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“I'll go to the sim with ART, and do our normal preparations,” he continued. “Then obviously we will do a couple bits and pieces at track, just a bit of a refresher and from there it's just onwards and upwards to a brand-new Monza circuit.

"It's completely different to how it was last year, so I am excited to see the differences and see if it works in our favour.”