About a year ago, CAR interviewed a Durban-born lad who has designs on becoming F1 world champion. You can read that interview here.
On Sunday, Raoul Hyman announced himself to the motorsport world by taking his maiden win in the hotly contested GP3 series, making him the first South African to earn that accolade. A feeder category to F1, the FIA event was held at the Red Bull Ring in Austria as a curtain raiser to the Grand Prix.
Hyman started race one from P13, after a mess up with his qualifying time, and fought his way to P8, which placed him on pole position in the reverse grid formation that the category employs for race two.
Speaking to CAR on Monday morning from his home in London, Hyman was elated with his first win in this class.
“It’s an absolutely fantastic feeling to win my first race in GP3. I’m really over the moon with the result,” he told us.
“I knew I had to make a great start to stay ahead at the tight first corner. I managed to do just that and then held the field at bay until the flag fell. I was pushing like crazy in the high-speed corners to stay ahead on Austria’s three long straights.”
“In the end Giuliano [Alesi, son of former F1 great Jean] didn’t get a chance to challenge for the lead, even though he had the benefit of the tow and DRS if he got within one second of me.”
The youngster said that it was quite emotional to stand on the top step of the podium, to hear the anthem playing and see the SA flag flying behind him.
“It was huge relief for me and the team to get this win. It is only Campos’ second victory in GP3. As an unsponsored driver, the win, not just a podium, was key as it shows I am deserving of my place on the grid. Hopefully this opens the doors to South African companies looking to further their exposure on the international motorsport stage.”
“It is also important to win on a Grand Prix weekend as the F1 teams are all there and they keep an eye on what is happening in junior formula. Getting into an F1 driver programme is the most direct route into F1, especially as it is prohibitively expensive to enter the top category in the sport. Winning brings attention of those in charge of the F1 driver programmes so this is a great place to grab my first win in GP3.”
Raoul ended by saying that he goes into the next race, also a curtain-raiser for F1, at Silverstone full of confidence and that he will be looking to build on this great result.
