In Profile: Mari Boya

Mari Boya’s second campaign in FIA Formula 3 came to an end in Monza, but there are still quite a few things we do not know about our resident Spaniard.

So, earlier this season we sat down with the Campos Racing driver to get to know him better and he gave us some good insight, revealing his racing hero, his love of sports and plenty more.

WHAT IS YOUR FIRST RACING MEMORY?

“It was when I was around seven or eight years old. I used to like going to rental karts with my family and when we were on vacation, my family would always try to find a karting place because I was enjoying it a lot. But on the days, I was doing Moto Trial, so like motorsport but not only like karts, I also did motorbike a bit, and from that I liked the speed and I always wanted to do karting or rental karting so I would say I was eight years-old in Valencia in the summer.”

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HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RACING STYLE?

“I would say I am quite aggressive, especially pushing over one lap but drivers when we grow up, we develop new techniques so we have to adapt our driving a lot, considering qualifying and the race so I think I am quite good at adapting my driving when I am doing qualifying compared to the race, especially in F3. It's one of the things that is the most important because the deg of the tyre is super high so we need to adapt during the race to be fast in the last part of the race. But also, we need to extract a good lap time in Quali, maximising all the grip we have so I think I am quite good at adapting to conditions and also racing when I am needed to.”

WHO IS YOUR RACING HERO?

“Hundred percent Fernando Alonso, no doubt.”

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST RACING ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR?

“In karting I had some really good moments, winning the Academy trophy, some European races, Spanish Championships, so I have really good memories winning in Abu Dhabi also winning in Dubai. It's hard to say one also I really like my victory in Valencia, those good moments always last for a long time, so all of them are really significant. When you look back on the time you always remember those one, so maybe I would say the win in Abu Dhabi because it was at night, I really liked it with the lights, on the hotel and everything it was amazing.”

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WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A RACING DRIVER?

“For me is that I do what I love, that is driving. It's just a dream that nowadays I can still do it. It's just amazing to just drive and also not racing with them but the Formula 1 drivers I have always seen on the TV, now I feel closer and closer to them which is just amazing. It's hard to describe sometimes but we are living the dream and we are maybe not fully thinking about when we were young how much we wanted this and now it's getting closer and closer.”

HOW DO YOU RELAX AWAY FROM RACING?

“I am a person that loves sports. Every day I have to do something, like two or three things a day, not because I need it but because I love it. I play padel a lot, a lot of Fronton, it's similar to tennis as it's also with a racket, I run a lot, I also play football. I also go to the gym a bit, not too much because then I get a bit heavy and as I am tall, I am quite on the weight limit. I also started swimming this year to build more resistance and to be thinner, so I do a lot of sports and I love it.”

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DO YOU HAVE ANY SECRET TALENTS OUTSIDE OF RACING?

“I am really fast. Like running, I am really fast I don't know why. I remember when I was young, I was doing many close races in my place and always I was winning all the time. I am really fast.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TRACK ON THE F3 CALENDAR?

“The most special one for me is Barcelona because it's the home race and it's very special. Monaco is also special, and maybe the track I like the most, Melbourne I like a lot, Imola I like a lot, Hungary I like a lot, Spa. It's hard for me to find a track that I don't like a lot. I enjoy all the tracks. Maybe Spielberg is one of the tracks I would say not so much, but the rest I like a lot. I like Spielberg but maybe a bit less than the other ones.”