After securing only a single point at the Red Bull Ring with a P10 finish in the Spielberg Feature Race, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Théophile Naël is set to return to the track for the 2025 Silverstone F3 Round, which supports the British GP. Ahead of the upcoming race weekend, Naël spoke to the media, including Pit Debrief, about his preparation for the historic circuit and reflected on his performances during the opening six rounds of the 2025 FIA Formula 3 season.
Naël expecting an exciting race at Silverstone
The upcoming 2025 Silverstone F2 Round will mark Naël ’s first-ever appearance at the legendary British circuit. To compensate for his lack of track experience, the French driver has dedicated considerable time to simulator work. He explained that this approach mirrors his preparation for the Spielberg event. However, with rain forecast over the weekend, Naël expects to face additional challenges, despite feeling well-prepared overall.
“Well, for me, first time in Silverstone. So, I did quite a lot of laps on the sim [on] Monday and Tuesday. We tried to prepare well for that one. It’s going to be an exciting one with maybe some rain on Saturday, so let’s see. But in terms of preparation, it’s been really similar as the Red Bull Ring.
Although he acknowledged that wet conditions could shake up proceedings on Saturday, Naël emphasised that he does not believe rain alone will hinder his performance. Nevertheless, he admitted that pairing the tricky conditions with his inexperience at Silverstone could present difficulties. Despite this, the Frenchman expressed eagerness to embrace the challenge ahead.
“Well, I really, I always really enjoyed driving under the rain, so let’s see. Let’s see how it goes. Let’s see how the weekend goes so far.”
He continued, “For sure, it’s a bit more difficult to drive under rain. I think I never drove here before in the past, so I cannot say much but I think that’s a typical track when it’s wet, when it’s raining, it’s going to be tough changing off-line, going to play with the rubbers off track as well offline. So yeah, let’s see. But I really enjoyed driving in the wet. So yeah, looking forward.”
A positive first half on the season
While focused on maximising his results at Silverstone, Naël also reflected on the first half of his 2025 F3 campaign. When asked by Pit Debrief to evaluate his performances so far, he responded positively, particularly highlighting his two podium finishes—one of which came in his debut Feature Race at Melbourne.
“Well, for me, we say quite positive first part of the season with two podiums in the future race so that’s quite positive.”
Despite these encouraging results, Naël acknowledged a lack of consistency that has held him back in certain rounds. He expressed hope that he could overcome these setbacks, especially in Qualifying, and return to the fight at the front during the 2025 British GP weekend.
“Maybe let’s say the negative part is that we are a bit inconsistent in quality especially. So yeah, that’s a bit where we are missing and we are struggling a bit, but hopefully this weekend we can be up there.”
“Learning a lot” to overcome inconsistency
Further elaborating on the inconsistency, Naël pointed out that both driver and team have experienced variable performances across the opening rounds. Although he conceded that he and his teammates have not always been able to fully extract the car’s potential, he also stressed the importance of making the most of every situation—especially when conditions are not ideal.
“Well, let’s say the inconsistency came from a bit on my side and as well with the whole team, all three drivers, we were doing some weekends. But of course, when the car is not perfect, we have to maximise everything because the car cannot be perfect every time. And so we have to maximise everything.”
Naël emphasised that he continues to learn with every race and remains hopeful that when everything aligns—driver, car, and conditions—he and Van Amersfoort Racing will once again fight at the front, as they did earlier in the season.
I’m learning a lot again, so hopefully next time when the car and everything will go exactly as planned, hopefully we can be up there like it goes in Barcelona, for example.”
An exciting weekend at an iconic track
Following a frustrating weekend in Austria, Naël now turns his attention to Silverstone—a circuit that carries significant prestige in motorsport. Responding to a question from Pit Debrief, he described the circuit as “iconic” and expressed his excitement about the atmosphere and fan support expected over the weekend.
“Well, yeah, for sure it’s an iconic track, iconic Grand Prix. During the track this morning, it was impressive to see so many grandstands. I hope many, many fans will be there and it’s going to be really crazy. I think we can see them on track as well, so, I think it’s going to be pretty cool.”
