Zak: “Rolling out of the garage will be a very special moment”

Before I head out to Abu Dhabi, I wanted to pen my thoughts on the season just gone and what there is to look forward to.

Firstly, 2023… It was not a bad F3 season, that is for sure. Of course, coming second in any championship can never be a bad result. I had quite a strong year with four wins overall, but I am constantly looking at ways to improve. There were a couple of areas of inconsistency that I do need to work on.

But overall, I’d say it was a good second season in F3. I certainly learned a lot of lessons that will prove invaluable as I go forward in my career.

I’m hugely excited to be stepping up to Formula 2 next season, but I know there are multiple changes I need to prepare myself for. Obviously, on the surface, it’s a faster and heavier car, but it will also be a new car for the entire F2 grid, which will be interesting.

As well as that, there will be pit stops in Feature Races which is something new for me. I’m looking forward to getting to grips with the more strategic side of racing. It will be quite an interesting change for me, and one that I’m looking forward to.

I’ll be joining ART, and they're heading into the final round leading the Teams’ Championship and the Drivers’ in F2. I've also got my own duties in Abu Dhabi, but I'll be keeping a close eye on it and rooting for them across the weekend.

Of course, I’m out at Yas Marina to get my first taste of a Williams Racing F1 car, something I’m very excited about.

Any time in an F1 car is a very good time – I’ve been lucky enough to have been in one of these machines before as part of winning the Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award – but this time around it will be a current, active race car. Rolling out of the garage in FP1 will be a very special moment.

Then it's onto the Young Driver Test, which will be a slightly different approach. I would have gained some experience from my FP1 outing, so I’ll already know what to expect from the car.

For me, I think that it’s going to be finalising what I've learned throughout FP1, and really putting it all together. I can’t wait!

Finally, looking ahead to 2024, I'd say it's hard to put any numbers on my goals for the year this early on. There are a few unknowns, but I think from my side, it will just be about doing everything I can to make sure I'm prepared as best as possible.

I'm really focusing on what I can do, and hopefully, the results should follow.

See you on track in Abu Dhabi!