Roman Bilinski is closing the chapter of his rookie Formula 3 season—something he wasn’t sure he would be able to do this time last year. After recovering from a life-altering accident in which he wasn’t sure he would race again after, he has bounced back. Taking a mere three months to recover before returning to FRECA, Bilinski is going against all odds to be racing again. Sitting in P12 in the Formula 3 Championship Standings, the final round in Monza is his final shot to climb the ladder.
An accident that changed a lot
In the June of 2024, Roman Bilinski faced a challenge that threatened to be life-altering. Near the Trident team base in Italy, Bilinski was caught up in a road accident, that left doctors believing he may never walk again. The British-Polish driver was left with two broken vertebrae and six screws in his back. This made walking tough, let alone racing. This did not stop him.
Bilinski put in immense dedication and hardwork, in order to get himself back in a race car three months later. Returning to his FRECA campaign in the Imola round, Bilinski came home with a P9 and P7 result. Returning to racing was against the medical advice he received, and came with major pain. To go from facing a retirement from racing, to racing Formula 3 in under a year is impressive, and has him feeling lucky.
“It’s not something that’s easy. A lot of hard work, pain and dedication has gone into it. This time last year, I wasn’t able to walk. I had to learn to do all of that again. The pain was immense, so to be back in the car three months later, really against all advice, was something crazy, and now to be racing here in Formula 3, I just feel very lucky.
“I woke up in hospital and realised and understood what was happening, and then to be back and be on a podium is just something I couldn’t even imagine. I couldn’t imagine stepping foot in a car again, and at one point even walking again. So, it’s not something I can really describe, to be honest, but it’s incredible.”
An ideal start to his rookie F3 campaign
Making the move to Formula 3 so soon after a traumatic incident was impressive enough. Despite this, Bilinski went on to score a podium paying position in his first race in F3. He faced a tough and point free round in Bahrain, before bouncing back in Imola and Monaco. Despite his second place in Monaco, he believes that the potential was so much higher.
“My first race in F3 – to be on the podium was great. Also, Monaco was a very good result, but there’s so much more potential there.“
The hard work to get to this point
After his incident in 2024, Bilinski lost all feeling in his left leg. He explains that he is only just beginning to regain a little bit of feeling. This comes as a challenge as the left leg is used to brake. This is a long lasting issue that he finds difficult to manage, but continues to work on it daily. Bilinski hopes that as the weeks go on he will continue to regain more feeling.
This sensation is a tough one for the British-Polish driver to explain. His best explanation is waking up with a dead arm, except in his case, it is his leg. The feeling was through his entire leg for the first four months, meaning this is how he took part in the Imola and Red Bull Ring rounds in the 2024 season.
Bilinski explains that he is finally getting slight feeling back in his foot, emphasising that despite how tricky it is, it is part of his story.
“I lost all feeling in my left leg after what happened, and I’m only now starting to regain a little bit of it. And of course, that’s what you use to brake. So it’s very difficult to manage, and every day, I’m working as hard as I can to try and get some of that feeling back, which is tricky. But hopefully with more weeks, it will get better and better, and my performances can grow even more.
“The best way to describe it is when you wake up with a dead arm. Imagine that, but it’s your leg, and it’s constantly that way. For the first four months I had it in the whole of my leg. So I drove the first round in Imola and Red Bull Ring like that when I came back. And now only I’m getting a little bit back in my foot. So yeah, it’s very tricky, but that’s part of it.”
A risk in order to save his career
Bilinski explains that returning to racing was against absolutely all medical advice he was given. Despite this, he knew he had no choice if he wanted to save his racing career. With racing being his childhood dream, and knowing he only had this shot to achieve it, he did what had to be done.
The 21-year-old acknowledged that should he have not taken that risk, he would be sat on his couch this racing season. That is not the case, and his risk paid of, and has landed him in Formula 3. This would have been a lifelong regret. Bilinski has truly proven his talent year, and will continue to do so as healing advances.
“It’s definitely something I can say a bit now, because it’s in the past when I say against all the advice, it was really against everything. But we have one shot at this. This has been my dream since I’ve been a little kid.
“If I had not taken that risk and been sitting on the sofa this year, not driving in Formula 3, I would have regretted it for my whole life. I always believed it in myself, but it was time to show it. And I think this year has shown some really good results. With more healing, it would just unlock more and more potential within myself.”
A strong season, but higher future expectations
Despite a strong season against all odds, Bilinski’s expectations for future seasons are only growing. While his performance has been strong, he knows there is more potential. He acknowledged just how crucial regaining feeling in his braking foot is, but adds that this should now give him added performance.
Bilinski states that there is still work to be done, but believes he can be proud of what he has achieved, and the circumstances he has achieved them under. Despite all this, the goal is to be winning. This is a unique sport, with so many control measures, but he believes anything is possible in Monza.
“Honestly, I would say it’s been a good year. I’m only now starting to regain some feeling in my braking foot, which is crucial. The more I gain, the better it is, and so now getting that back is just going to give myself more performance.
“I think my performance in the car has also gone quite well. There’s still lots to work on, but I think I can be very happy and proud, but ultimately you want to be winning.
“We’ve got a very unique sport where so many things have to come together for that to happen. But the team and I are pushing really hard. We still have two races left. Anything’s possible!”
