Red Bull and Honda junior Souta Arao is gearing up for his first campaign in GB3 this season, and the Japanese driver is looking forward to developing his driver skills in the UK’s leading single-seater category.
Joining forces with reigning champions Hitech GP, he reckons he’s in the ideal place to get up to speed quickly after a race-winning campaign in French F4 last year.
“Hitech GP are the champion team, they have a lot of data and I think it will be a year of great growth for me,” he said.
Graduating from F4-level racing to GB3 will involve adapting to a quicker car in all departments, and he’s looking forward to driving the Tatuus MSV-022 car for the first time in pre-season testing.
“I think the step up from F4 to GB3 is a good opportunity for me to learn about downforce.
“I have not driven the car yet, so I don’t know what it is like. I am still inexperienced, but I will do my best.”
He’s looking forward to getting stuck in to the close racing action that GB3 provides, particularly in the reverse grid races where he’ll develop overtaking abilities.
“One of the attractions of GB3 is that some of the races are reversed grids like FIA F3. It means that you need to be fast, but also have the skill to overtake” he acknowledges.
Many Red Bull juniors move quickly up the racing ladder, with several drivers on this year’s FIA F3 and F2 grids carrying the Junior Team colours. The 17-year-old hopes success in GB3 will propel him into the F1 paddock in the not too distant future.
“If I do well in GB3, I think the next category will be FIA F3 or F2, so I will try to do my best!”