CAR: Who is Raoul Hyman?
RH: I’m a 20-year-old South African racing driver. I was born in Durban, but moved to the UK to pursue a career in motorsport. My ultimate goal is to become Formula 1 world champion.
CAR: What have been some of your career highlights?
RH: That’s a tough question to answer. I’ve had a quite few high points in my career, which makes it hard to rank them. Early career highlights would definitely be winning my first South African National Karting Championship in my second year of racing (2009). Then moving to the UK and finishing a close third in the British Super One Series, which many regard as one of the most competitive karting championships in the world. In terms of car racing, I’d say my highlights are the race wins in BRDC Formula 4, although finishing on the podium in my rookie year in F3 at my first race in Monza does come close!
CAR: Where are you competing at the moment and how is it going?
RH: After spending a small fortune in preseason testing since October last year to April this year in F3, sponsor funding from South Africa that was expected did not arrive. As a result, I had to temporarily suspend my racing programme after Paul Ricard. My management team has been working diligently on trying to get me back into the car by the end of July.
This has been a big disappointment because we had been very fast in preseason testing and had either topped some of the tests or been in the top five consistently. As we’ve come to know in this sport, however, talent and the ability to drive a racecar fast is not everything; having strong sponsors and partners is just as critical. The Far East and South American drivers are backed heavily by their governments and big businesses, and we have been trying to raise the profile of these Formula 1 feeder series in South Africa. Hopefully, we will start to see the results of this soon.
CAR: What are the main differences between racing an F3 car compared to the previous cars you have raced?
RH: F3 has, by far, the most downforce of any car I have ever experienced. A current F3 car will generate up to one tonne of downforce, which means that the grip in the high-speed corners in particular is unbelievable. In some corners, our mid-corner speeds will even match GP2 cars. Exploiting the downforce is one of the major keys to being quick in an F3 car because you need to be able to brake late, carry a lot of speed into the corners and have faith that the car will stick. As a result, one can carry far more speed into the corners than in other Formula cars and it is known to be the closest approximation of a Formula 1 car.
Another major difference is having carbon brakes, which generate incredible stopping power, allowing one to stop the car in incredibly short distances. For example, at Monza we arrive at Turn 1 at 260 km/h yet our mid-corner speed is 60 km/h, meaning we scrub off 200 km/h in 100 metres.
CAR: How involved are you with the set-up of the vehicle and do you like to “get your hands dirty”?
RH: The professional racing driver does not get involved in physically working on the car. The driver’s role is to work closely with his engineer by offering feedback, which is then translated into setting up the car. This is a crucial relationship as the engineers are often not drivers, so rely heavily on the driver’s feedback in order to set the car up to be fast over a lap. The driver therefore offers feedback in the following areas:
Firstly, there is the engine performance, and the driver’s input will determine what gear ratios are used.
Secondly, the mechanical balance; this includes everything from front and rear ride heights, roll-bar stiffness and springs, to damper settings, tyre pressures and possibly even adjustments to the differential settings. Here, the driver’s input through every part of the lap is crucial in arriving at an overall balance. Sometimes a half-a-millimetre ride-height change can make all the difference.
Last but not least, finding the optimal aero balance is crucial. Aero settings differ for each circuit, and it is my job as a driver to find the optimum aero trade-off, maximising downforce and minimising drag in order to produce the fastest lap time. Naturally, the amount of wing that one chooses to run also affects the braking in some corners. For example, adding front wing to assist braking performance will compromise top speed down the straights.
CAR: How close are the cars in the field from a technical point of view? Does money still buy you speed?
RH: Unfortunately, the simple answer is yes, money will still buy you speed. Whilst the engines are sealed and regulated and all teams have to use one of two chassis, the rules allow for the development of various parts of the chassis. The larger teams are able to pump a lot more capital into their development which is always going to yields results and this is often evident in various aerodynamic tweaks and mods that they bring to each event during the season. Teams are allowed to remanufacture the entire floor, side-pods, brakes, and even the cooling system, sometimes finding more than half a second during the course of the season.
Last year, I raced with one of the smaller teams in F3 and then tested for the top two teams in the championship at the end of the year. Immediately I could feel that there was just a lot more grip to be had and I went from challenging to break into the top 10 to topping the timesheets straight away.
Most remarkable was the amount of downforce that I had in the high-speed corners and how quickly I was able to warm up the tyres as a result of the additional downforce. Money therefore, definitely buys time as it facilitates more development and time in the wind tunnel. It’s very much like Formula 1 where the driver/drivers in the fastest cars will normally end up winning the races purely because their cars are some 0,2-0,4 of a second quicker than everyone else.
CAR: How physical is it to drive an F3 car? How fit do you have to be?
RH: Driving an F3 car is very physical. I really had to put on a lot of muscle mass when I moved up from F4, because even though I had the cardiovascular endurance, I didn’t actually have the strength I needed to hustle the car around as my driving style requires. My first F3 test was a real eye-opener in that regard and I struggled particularly with my neck and shoulder strength, but it was perhaps a blessing in disguise because I was then able to take a big step forward before the first race.
Now, I train six times a week with a mixture of cardio plus strength and conditioning work for between one-and-a-half and two hours a day. My goal is to be fit enough for the next step, so therefore fit enough to race a Formula Renault 3,5 or even a GP2 car. Besides my daily training, I train at a specialist Formula 1 clinic in Italy once a quarter and also at a similar single-seater training facility once a week. This is a part of preparation that is seldom seen and it surprises most people to find out that these clinics prioritise the mental aspect of the preparation above that of the physical.
CAR: What are your medium- and long-term goals?
RH: My long-term goal is the same as it has been since I was two years old: to become a Formula 1 world champion. In order to get there, I need to excel in Formula 3 and perhaps then GP2 in order to be noticed. But this is not enough as funding is just as critical. I would either need to assemble sponsors and partners who will fund me on this journey or, alternately, I would need to get onto a driver programme. So my medium-term goal is to win as many races as possible in FIA F3 and then GP2 and then try to get onto an F1 driver programme, unless I am able to find strong South African partners.
CAR: Have you been approached by any top-level teams in higher formula?
RH: Yes, I have been offered tests in a Formula 1 car and GP2. The Formula 1 tests normally cost around £250 000 a day and are usually available to drivers who do well in F3. I’ve also been offered fairly attractive tests in GP2 this year but felt that the funds were better used testing in F3. And of course, I’ve also been offered drives and tests in Formula 3,5 V8, GP3 and in Indy Lights. We have decided, however, to concentrate on F3 for now so have spent our limited budget on the F3 programme so far.
CAR: Have you driven an F1 car? How different is it to and F3 car?
RH: I haven’t yet driven an F1 car, even though I’ve been offered the opportunity to test one on more than one occasion now. I would imagine the main difference is the sheer horsepower. The power-to-downforce ratio is said to be quite similar to that of an F3, which makes the driving style similar, but I’ll have to drive one before I can confirm that…
CAR: How big is the leap into F1? (i.e. what are the key areas to ensure a seat: finances to performance behind the wheel, etc.)
RH: Arguably the most important factor to get into F1 is how much financial backing you can bring, unless you’re on a driver programme. Of the current crop of F1 drivers, aside from the top six, most of the other drivers bring in a minimum of £15-million per annum. This is, of course, assuming that they are capable and fast. So whilst the team around me continue to work on securing a budget for me to get to Formula 1, I have to ensure that I perform at my best every time I get into the car. Having said that, there are a great many fast drivers out there and regrettably it usually comes down to who is able to come up with the largest budget.
CAR: Are modern top formula single-seaters too easy to drive? Would you prefer more focus on the driver and less aero, electronic aids?
RH: History has proved that the top drivers will be fast in anything. We saw this in the Schumacher era where driver aids were curbed significantly and again now in the Hamilton era, where the flow of information has been restricted. In both cases, the clampdown on driver aids and information did not upset the established order. A fast driver is always going to be fast.
I do not think that modern high-level single-seaters are easy to drive. We have no electronic aids like traction control, ABS brakes, or anything else along those lines. In terms of aero levels on the cars, decreasing aero wouldn’t necessarily make the cars harder to drive. If there was less aero on the cars, I believe it may make it easier on some drivers because not everyone can extract the maximum grip in the high-speed corners, which is really separates the men from the boys.
On the same point, decreasing aero could help overtaking because following other cars in the dirty air wouldn’t be as difficult. I relish the challenge of close racing and I take every opportunity for wheel-to-wheel combat, but I don’t think decreasing aero levels on the cars is the way forward. However, one change I think could be positive for any F1 feeder series would be to tighten the regulations to make sure that all the drivers have as equal a chance at winning.
CAR: Which of the current F1 drivers do you most identify with?
RH: I would say Lewis Hamilton, purely because I liken my driving style to his, which is, in a word, aggressive. I’m probably the opposite in terms of his off-track antics though. I’ve been busy studying to complete my law degree so I don’t really have the time to party as much as he does!
CAR: Who is your all-time driving F1 hero? And why?
RH: Michael Schumacher. I grew up supporting him and I always admired his relentless, all-out attitude to win regardless of the odds. That’s something I identify with and I do my best to replicate.
