Written by Isabel Brito, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
For a lot of drivers, the dream is to be a Formula One world champion, and this is no different for Roman Bilinski. The 19 year-old Polish-British driver has gone from racing in GB3 to Formula 4, and now for a second season in FRECA.
Getting to the pinnacle of motorsport is a journey that takes a lot of work and preparation, and not every driver gets the opportunity to be in the fastest cars in the world. Drivers aspiring to be in Formula One must prove not only themselves, but also the teams that they are worthy of a seat alongside 19 of the best racing drivers in the world.
It is no secret that the journey to becoming a Formula One driver is a difficult one, but Bilinski has been able to get closer to accomplishing his dream. In this field, taking the right steps to accomplish a goal is extremely important and Roman seems to think the same: “My goal is to be a Formula One world champion and I think FRECA is the correct step, and next would be FIA F3. I think it's the correct step, as you can see, even in F3 this year, all the FRECA drivers are really performing well. So, I think it's the correct step up,” he says. “I need to do this year first and do the best I can do, and hopefully I get the opportunity next year in fia F3”
Maintaining performance while going from one series to another is something that determines the adaptability of a driver, but it is even more complicated to maintain a level of competitiveness: “FRECA is the most competitive championship I’ve driven by far,” the driver says. “The drivers are at the top, so yeah, it's a lot more difficult.”
However, having a team that believes in their drivers, and always strives to put them at the top is also an important factor to take into consideration. Thankfully for Roman, Trident is the right team for him. “I have an amazing team around me, Trident, who are doing everything and I have an amazing other team behind the scenes that is also preparing me as well as I can, so let's see how we do with that.”
For a driver to perform well, it isn’t just about the team and support behind them,. While this support is important, there are multiple other factors that come into play.
The most important factor is how a driver manages their mental and physical health. Both go hand-in-hand when it comes down to a driver’s performance and development. When something happens in the mind, it can completely affect a race, and how a driver deals with it can affect or improve a career. “It's such a big thing in sports, the mental side, obviously, you have the physical side, I guess here [mind] is what really drives the car, that what tells you to break later, to break a bit earlier and things like this, so I'm really working on that and also working on myself to try and go into this season feeling a bit happier about myself.”
Preparation is also a key factor that plays a massive part in a driver’s season, and can make or undo an entire season. A factor as important as preparation is something that is not only worked on before the start of the season, but also needs to be developed all along the season, in order to reach the best performance possible.
However, pre-season preparation is just as important, “I’ve had a lot of training off track, so obviously in the gym, it's a part of it but also mentally, I mean because that's really what drives the car. so i've done a lot of prep there, which i'll probably not say too much because I guess that's my secret,” the driver says and adds, “ just making sure that I'm as focused and as prepared as possible so that when i get in the in Imola for quali i'm on it.”
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Regardless, being a driver also takes sacrifice and even though most times it isn’t ideal, at the end it’s rewarding, “It's in some way the most incredible thing ever to be a racing driver, but in some ways it's also very difficult and I’ve had to sacrifice I guess a lot of my social life and a lot of the life I would love to also live. I've had to sacrifice all for my racing, so that part is tough but I mean, I'm doing the thing that I love the most.”
It is also a given that every driver has a start, and a story that not only inspires others, but also keeps them going in such a tough industry, “When I was younger watching it on TV [Formula One] I just always dreamt about crossing the finish line in the last race and imagine myself as a Formula One world champion, it gives me goosebumps now thinking about it, so yeah it's just a massive dream of mine.”
From changing series to chasing dreams, Roman has high hopes for the future of his career, “I’d say Ferrari would be incredible. I'm in Italy loads now because of my team. I really love Italy, spending time there and Ferrari is such a dream as seeing what they've done in Formula One, and just in general it's incredible. I have to say Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, they all have such different ways of going around things, but all of them make incredible results out of nowhere.”
Roman Bilinski is sure to be a promise for the future, not only in his career, but in the field of motorsport. His drive and desire to keep chasing his dreams is what sets him apart from a pool of drivers aspiring to get a spot in the highest level of the sport. Time and again, drivers have come and gone, others have given up, and some find themselves in other series, but Bilinski's talent surely makes him one to keep an eye on for the next generation of Formula One drivers.