Friday’s F3 Qualifying saw mixed conditions set the grid for both the Sprint and Feature races. Group B, which experienced yellow flags and a red flag, faced particularly disrupted laps. Roman Bilinski, who ran in Group B, reflected on his weekend and racing mindset during the post-qualifying press conference.
Making moves and proving others wrong
Chasing a target time of 1:24.882, set by Nikola Tsolov, Bilinski clocked in just behind with a 1:25.332, securing P2. While the Brit would naturally have preferred pole, he accepted the result with a racer’s mentality.
“Yeah, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit disappointed, of course, sitting here in P2, but I think that’s a racing driver mentality.“
This performance marks another significant milestone in Bilinski’s rookie season, following his podium in Melbourne. Despite limited track time, he continues to prove his doubters wrong and demonstrate his potential.
“Yeah, definitely. It’s a nice thing and always to prove people wrong is a good feeling. But as a rookie, especially, it’s a really good thing.”
Bilinski recognises that consistent performances will pave the way for future opportunities, possibly even a promotion to Formula 2.
“And as long as I can just keep working hard and keep getting some good results, I think some good opportunities can come and that’s all I need to do.”
Qualifying in Monaco: critical yet controversial
Monaco’s notoriously unforgiving layout makes qualifying absolutely crucial. A front-row start often represents the best—if not the only—chance of winning. To mitigate traffic and reduce the risk of accidents, F3 qualifying is split into two groups.
With a 30-car grid and short sessions, drivers have limited practice time. This poses a challenge, especially for rookies like Bilinski, who comes from FRECA where more laps are the norm.
“Yeah, it’s a tricky one, Monaco, because especially you don’t get many laps in F3 in practice or as many as I’m used to coming from FRECA.
“So I did quite a lot of work on practice and briefing and if a car was in the wall, it was in the wall. So, yeah.”
Recently, some drivers and fans have criticised the split format as unfair, citing differing track evolution between groups. However, others argue that without it, traffic would make clean laps impossible. Bilinski, fresh from a strong showing in Group B, offered a balanced view.
“Yeah, I agree with both of them. If you have 30 cars in qualifying, it would just be a mess and there would just be too many investigations and things like this with impeding and stuff like this.
“So I think the groups are a really good idea, especially for Monaco.”
The approach to F3 Qualifying and Races in Monaco
Qualifying in Monaco demands not only skill but also the right mindset. With overtaking so difficult, a strong starting position becomes essential. Nevertheless, Bilinski insists that the nature of the circuit does not alter his approach.
“Yeah, I can completely agree with both of them. For me, it doesn’t really make a difference. You get on and you do your job and that’s kind of it, to be honest.
“That’s the approach I take going into it. I don’t really think about anything else. I just go into each session, try to do my best and do my job.”
Holding position during the race is equally vital. Given the circuit’s layout, Bilinski believes that maintaining a steady pace on the racing line will be key.
“Yeah, exactly. I think it’s obviously, like they said, a difficult track to overtake.”
Starting from P2, Bilinski understands that staying close to the leader while keeping the chasing pack at bay will be critical. Although this is his first race in Monaco, he remains confident in his ability to manage the challenge.
“I think when you have quite a similar pace to the car in front and behind, really you can just drive on the racing line and I don’t think they’re going to get past, but I don’t really know about this track so much.
“So yeah, we’ll see and it will be a good experience in the sprint race for us. And yeah, we’ll see on Sunday.”
