In Profile: Cian Shields

Hitech Pulse-Eight rookie Cian Shields is the latest driver to face the spotlight and answer some all-important questions to help get to know him better.

The Glaswegian gives us the lowdown on his racing style, who he ranks as his favourite driver and some of his early racing memories from karting back at home.

WHAT IS YOUR FIRST RACING MEMORY?

“Think it’s got to be the same as everyone else’s, when I first jumped into a go-kart at 10 years-old. That was the first time ever I sat in a race car and ever since then, I’ve known that it’s what I want to do or wanted to be when I was older. That was just outside Glasgow in a place called Larkhall. I went to an indoor kart place for people’s birthday parties when I was younger but that was the first time at a proper go-kart track.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RACING STYLE?

“I’d say quite calm, collected. I know when to push and when to hold back a bit. I feel I’m quite good at judging situations, when to push and when not to go for broke the whole time. In Practice you always leave a bit in the bag. Qualifying you push to make sure you’re all in and then especially at the start of the race, you need to be aggressive because that’s when you can make the most positions up.”

WHO IS YOUR RACING HERO?

“Currently in F1, my favourite driver is Max Verstappen but overall, I’d say Ayrton Senna. Always fast, good in the races.”

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A RACING DRIVER?

“There’s quite a few to be honest. The adrenaline, the people you get to meet is amazing and traveling all around the world is such a great opportunity especially at such a young age. It’s definitely enjoyable so I’d saying going to all these places and meeting all these new people from around the world.”

READ MORE: TESTING NOTEBOOK: How did each team fare after three days of running in Barcelona?

DO YOU HAVE ANY SECRET TALENTS?

“Umm, I do a bit of boxing at home, but that’s more for training rather than the fighting side. That’s probably the only type of hobby I have outside of racing. I always wanted to go into it but mum wouldn’t let me in the ring.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TRACK ON THE F3 CALENDAR?

“Well, I’d never been to Bahrain and that was pretty special, but I’d probably say Silverstone. I could probably get to most European tracks quicker than I could get to Silverstone but the high-speed nature of the track, all those fast corners, you always need to be on the limit.”