After his promotion into the F2 category at the 2025 Baku Round, Laurens van Hoepen shared the habits that help him balance rest with racing. His debut with Trident allowed him to showcase his skills and establish a permanent place in the series.
Before his jump into F2, van Hoepen collected a couple of podiums throughout the Formula 3 2025 season. With a total of 60 points, the Dutchman earned two P3 finishes at Monaco and Monza. His performance with ART Grand Prix secured the 20-year-old the Formula 2 seat.
Staying active
The life of a racing driver often entails pretty long breaks without races. And in all that free time, drivers spend it keeping fit and engaging in hobbies. Van Hoepen spoke of the past time activities that get him moving, outside the F2 2025 season.
“I really enjoy sports. Anything to do with sports, I really like. I’m always trying to be active and doing different types of activities. For example, I love playing golf, tennis and keeping busy. I am really bad at just sitting still with nothing to do.”
The Dutchman confessed to enjoying a match of padel once in a while. With all these hobbies, the 20-year-old manages to fill up the empty time between race weekends and training.
“I like padel as well. We all play quite a bit in the paddock. So I’m always doing some kind of sport. Usually, whenever I have time off from racing. It’s a classic racing driver kind of thing.
“There’s karting, golf, tennis and padel. Apart from that, I don’t really do much when I’m not in a racing car.”
Summer break in Spain
When the weather gets warmer and the race season takes a long break, drivers take time away, recharging. Van Hoepen talked about his summer getaway in Spain, which helped him relax outside the F3 and F2 2025 seasons. Nevertheless, the Trident driver discussed the need to stay fit during the gaps in the calendar.
“Over the summer break, I went to Spain. It was nice to spend some time on the beach and by the sea. We had quite a bit of time to do that. And, apart from training, there’s not so much to do outside of that. Swimming in the summer is good, but it’s about staying active.”
However, the need for a pause in training hits sometimes. When that happens, van Hoepen spends his days curled up with a good movie.
“When I have days where I’m a bit more chilled out, watching a movie or something like that. I prefer staying active. But it’s still always nice to have some time off, you know, and just chill out a little bit.”
A preference for karting
With these many activities in his repertoire, Laurens van Hoepen admitted to a certain inclination for karting. Pointing out its similarities to racing, the Dutchman shared a fond moment with his father.
“If I had to choose one sport to do over the rest, I’d pick karting. It’s close with that and tennis. But I think I’d choose karting because I’m still racing that way.
“It’s just a bit of fun, though. I went with my dad one time, and he drove as well, which was fun. I was trying to show him up a bit, and it got super competitive. But it was nice.”
Despite his love for his hobbies, the 20-year-old emphasised the focal point that racing takes in his life:
“So, apart from that, everything is focused on racing. And that is the way I prefer it.”
