Boya hoping to avoid Qualifying chaos and maximise Monza speed

30 August 2024

Campos Racing and Mari Boya started the 2024 finale on the front foot, ending Practice on top on Formula 3’s return to action at Monza.

The Spaniard was very enthusiastic about his and the team’s work after the session, having been in contention for the top spots throughout Practice.

Speaking after jumping out of the car, Boya says that Campos is in a good position heading into the final Qualifying session of the year.

“Yeah the session was quite good. We used two sets of tyres, one Medium and one Soft, with the Softs the ones we will use this weekend.

“From the beginning of the session, we were at the top. The car is feeling really good, so let’s see. Temperatures are really high, but we have to keep working. We still have a few things to work on but the start to the weekend has been really good. So let’s keep this momentum up.”

In order to keep that momentum rolling, the team will be going through their data gathered in Practice with Boya indicating there’s still speed to come from the car.

With the changes to the track surface offering improved grip and reducing the expected tyre degradation, the Campos driver says that the tweaks between now and Qualifying will be crucial to their hopes, but he has a good idea of which direction they will head in with car setup.

“It’s nice to be feeling confident heading into Qualifying. The track has changed a bit compared to the previous times I’ve been here, so it’s always nice to be at the top and feeling confident. Qualifying will be really important this weekend.

Boya hopes to capitalise on his Practice pace and finish the final Qualifying of the year on top

“The Tarmac especially is new, so I think there’s a bit more grip and the degradation will be a bit different as well. It’s a track where the deg isn’t high compared to other tracks, so we ran more in Free Practice so could experiment quite a lot.

“I think the ideas are quite clear for Qualifying, let’s see if the result is the same.”

A new dimension for Monza Qualifying will be the splitting of the field, with 15 cars running in two separate segments in order to reduce traffic around the circuit.

Boya says that he still expects the session to be full of gamesmanship as drivers try to gain the ideal slipstream and tow around the Temple of Speed.

However, with Boya set to drive in Group A along with three of the six Championship contenders, he says that there could be opportunities to benefit from the “chaos.”

With nothing to lose, Boya is aiming to capitalise and end the 2024 campaign on a high note.

“I expect it to be crazy. I’m in the even-numbered group and so are the top three in the Championship, so they won’t want a big mess but 100% they are the ones that need to push it because they are fighting for the title.

“So we will try and benefit ourselves, use the chaos from the outside because the slipstream is really important here, it makes a big difference. We will try to be clever.

“The Qualifying is also short because it’s split in two, so only one new set of tyres which will make it tough. But I think we are more than ready for it.

“Warm-up here is key because there aren’t many corners to build up the tyre temperature of the tyre. We just need to have a clean session and 100% we will be at the front. “Let’s try to maximise all that we have and finish the season in the way we deserve.”