By Aurora Loffredo, Elisa Mantovani and Sara del Mistero
A new chapter in a new category with a team, MP Motorsport, that immediately showed a warm attitude toward him: Mari Boya. Competing in FRECA so far, the Spanish driver tells his story between his past and his future, willing to see his dream of becoming a Formula 3 race winner come true next year.
Mari Boya’s start: karting
The approach to karting is crucial if you want to be a driver in your life, and Mari Boya has collected many positive results there. One in particular came to his memory: “Definitely the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy World Champion will be something I will always remember. It’s the greatest achievement I have made in my career and I also have great memories when I raced there. For example, when I represented Spain in 2018.”
In the next step, when you approach single-seaters for the first time what differences do you notice?: “It’s a whole different story. When you go from a kart to a Formula everything is much bigger, it takes you some time to adapt to the new things, but after you’ve done three or four tests you start to really like the single-seater despite being completely different from a kart.”
FRECA: between difficult choices and new experiences
In the current season, he raced with ART GP first and then with his current team, finding better possibilities in the Dutch team. Nevertheless he did not deny the French team’s potential: “They managed to dominate in another category, but I did not find the feeling with the car. It was a shame, but they are one of the best teams around.”
We asked the driver if he found any relevant differences between the cars he drove and the working method of both teams, “They are both top teams and work as such. With MP I am sure I can fight for wins and the championship.”
If we take stock of the season, we all have moments when we could have done more. The new F3 rookie is not exempt from ‘self-criticism’: “To be honest, after finishing testing last winter with ART, I was convinced I could fight for the championship. When we decided to switch to MP Motorsport, there were problems with the car due to grip and we couldn’t show our potential, but I think if there hadn’t been, we would have been fighting for the title, for the win and for the podium. It was a real shame.” Among the best moments he places his attention on Monte Carlo: “I had the fastest lap of the whole weekend. It was a shame that I had traffic in qualifying and couldn’t get the pole, but then in the race I was the fastest.”
Then we asked him about his favourite overtake of the season and he stated that: “Hungaroring, I was starting from the back and I did a lot of overtaking. Otherwise Zandvoort, when I overtook on the inside of T3 on banking.”
The climb to Formula 3
One of the fundamental stages in the race for the premier class is the move to Formula 3. Mari Boya knows it and has already tried out the new single-seaters during the winter testing. The new features he has had to deal with: “There are many differences, above all power, aerodynamic load and brakes. With these cars I can go all the way to the end, with the FRECA single-seaters you have to be softer”.
With an eye on 2023, the young man is looking forward to racing in Australia: “I always like new things. Besides, when I was a kid and played Formula 1 on the Playstation, it was the track I liked the most.”
Mari Boya’s race weekend
At the end of the day, we are all a little bit superstitious. There is the soccer player who makes the sign of the cross before stepping on the turf or the one who always enters with one foot. The drivers, on the other hand? Do they have any habits before getting into the car for a race?: “I use to put on my right glove first and when I jump into the car I always put my right foot in first.”
What about family?: “It’s always nice to have family during a race weekend, but I also know that, in this job, you often have to move alone, I used to do that when I had to be in the simulator or had to be on the track early.”
Get to know Mari Boya outside the paddock
If the saying ‘good blood doesn’t lie’ is always true, who could be his favorite driver if not Fernando Alonso. The Asturian also contributed to the birth of his passion, along with his habit of going with her family to kart tracks.
For a track that pleases, there is always a track that it’s hard to swallow: “Paul Ricard. It’s a strange track, I really like it, but you lose time too easily because there are very long straights. It is definitely one of the most difficult tracks, if you make a mistake the consequences are many.” He has the best memories at Spanish tracks, particularly Jerez where he won his first race in Formula 4.
For such a young boy, is it difficult to combine work and school life?: “I studied in Barcelona in a school where I trained, ate, slept and had help with exams since I was almost always out. So it was easy for me. Studying is difficult for a driver since we always have to travel, but I did it.”
Mari Boya is ready to prove all his worth and will to win to his rivals. Mult1formula can only send him a big good luck!
