Théophile Naël heads to the Belgian GP with momentum on his side after a stunning drive to second place at Silverstone. The Frenchman made the right call to start on wets as rain hit the grid. Climbing through the field while others slipped back. He held firm under pressure and secured his first podium of the season. Now, with confidence high and rain again in the forecast. Naël arrives in Spa ready to fight at the front during the Belgian GP.
Track limits and focus crucial for Naël at Spa
Looking ahead to the Belgian GP, Naël, while speaking to media including Pit Debrief, emphasised the importance of discipline—particularly regarding track limits. “We have to be smart with the track limits,” he said. “It’s a typical track where we can have some laps deleted because of that.”
With its high-speed corners, dramatic elevation changes, and unpredictable weather, Spa presents one of the most demanding tests on the calendar. Naël stressed the challenge of staying consistent across such a long lap.
“Well yeah for me I will say we have to be smart with the track limits as well. We know that it’s a typical track where we can have some laps deleted because of that so yeah track limits and as well try to maximise everything in the lap is going to be I think tough. The track is really long we have to stay focused during some laps so yeah looking forward to it.”
Van Amersfoort Racing and Naël ready for more rain during the Belgian GP
Naël feels confident as he prepared for another potentially wet weekend, this time during the Belgian GP. Rain played a major role at Silverstone. With showers once again in the forecast, Naël believes the experience gave him an edge.
“We were pretty much on the rain this year, so I’m feeling confident in both conditions dry wet,” he said. That confidence extends to the team as well. “We are more than ready if the rain is coming this weekend,” he added.
Naël knows that the Belgian GP will present a fresh set of challenges, but he welcoms the uncertainty. “We have to play with it—it is going to be the same for everyone,” he said. He also pointed out how strong the car felt in the wet. “The wet tyres are looking quite fast in the wet conditions, so it’s quite enjoyable to drive with this car on the wet condition,” he said.
“Well I think we were pretty much on the rain this year so I’m feeling confident in both conditions dry wet so I think we are more than ready if the rain is coming this weekend. But yeah now we have to we have to play with it it’s gonna be for everyone the same so let’s see how it goes but yeah like Noel mentioned it the wet tyres are looking quite fast in the wet condition so it’s quite enjoyable to drive with this car on the wet condition.”
Staying calm and focused key to consistency
In response to a question from Pit Debrief, Naël emphasised the value of patience and a steady mindset. Especially when facing the challenges of different circuits and changing conditions. Despite his youth, Naël understood that remaining calm and composed allowed him to adapt and deliver consistent performances. His approach highlighted the importance of mental strength as much as technical skill in junior formula racing.
“I think we are all doing we are all doing mini laps in the season so, maybe I would say the key to be consistent just to drive stay calm with some fresh ideas. Then we have to target the good objective as well, don’t get frustrated when it goes wrong and not the way that we want so yeah for sure.”
“I’m still very young for me in my part so I don’t have much experience I would say. But in the past categories every time for me when it worked well is that I was calm and yeah, just lap after lap building confidence and yeah, I think that’s pretty much that’s it.”
Van Amersfoot Racing “made a really big step forward this season”
Naël believes Van Amersfoort Racing has made significant progress this season, crediting the strong momentum to a well-balanced driver line-up. In response to a question from Pit Debrief, he highlighted the positive team dynamic, which has fostered trust and effective collaboration. The team continues to work hard on improving the car with each race, placing emphasis on providing detailed and precise feedback.
As he looks ahead to the Belgian GP, Naël remains focused and confident. With just three rounds remaining, he expects strong results and feels the team is in a good position to finish the season on a high. He also acknowledged the engineers’ hard work behind the scenes and remains optimistic about what is to come.
“Well, so far the team made a really big step forward this season. We have a really good lineup, three really good drivers, the relationship is really good between each other. We are working very hard together trying to improve the car race after race and try to be really precise with our feedback as well. I hope the three rounds left are going to be positive and I think we are looking quite strong this season. I think we apologise to all the engineers for their work and let’s see how it goes.”
Naël pleased his rookie season in Formula 3
As a rookie, Naël expressed satisfaction with his debut season, viewing a top-10 position in the championship as a strong achievement. Although he has yet to secure a victory, he remains pleased with earning three podium finishes so far and considers it a solid foundation for future success.
“Well, I’m quite happy about my first season as a rookie driver. Actually, in the top 10 in the championship for the first season is quite good. I didn’t have my victory again but still three podiums in this season in future races so yeah pretty happy.“
Reflecting on his development, Naël acknowledged that he still has much to learn, particularly in refining his race pace and bringing all elements together consistently. However, he recognised steady progress, feeling that improvement is coming with each race. Building on that momentum, he expressed confidence heading into the final rounds of the season.
“I still have a lot to learn in terms of race pace, how to put everything together but it’s coming. I feel it’s coming race after race so yeah looking forward and I’m confident for the rest of the season.”
