A sweat-free weekend, so the F1 blog makes way for a longer interview with Dino Beganovic and his way to Formula 1.
He won at Imola. He won at Monza.
Now Ferrari Junior Dino Bejanovic is leading the championship and he knows exactly where he wants to be.
– The plan is Formula 1 in three, maybe four years, you say he is.
The 18-year-old from Linköping remains the only Swedish driver who has had the opportunity to train as a racing driver at Ferrari’s private academy. He is one of nine drivers in the academy and is now performing his third season in Italy where he lives at Ferrari’s home, ten minutes from the legendary factory in Maranello, Italy.
– I’m a more complete driver now than I was when I came here. It’s a big difference, I’ve completely developed myself, both as a driver on the track and also as a person. There’s a culture here at Ferrari that’s growing in it, says Dino Bejanovic. It makes everything different.
Besides the track, he is always unpretentious and always well crafted. He is well aware of the opportunity that has been presented to him and that the path he is on can lead to Formula 1.
Dino Beganovic bets on Formula 1
Ferrari doesn’t invest in a driver without potential and ambition. The team has proven this time and again in its more than 70 years in Formula 1, the stable has given unknown drivers like Niki Lauda and Gilles Villeneuve the opportunity to develop into legends and helped Felipe Massa to a successful career. Since 2009 the team has set up the Ferrari Driver Academy and the first driver to reach the royal class was Jules Bianchi, who then died in the summer of 2015 after suffering an accident nine months earlier. The program has also mentored drivers such as Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher into Formula 1.
– Mick is still a part of the academy. He is here and drives the simulator a lot, we talk and we have a very good connection because he belongs to the academy. Otherwise, it’s the drivers in Formula 2 and Formula 1 who work together. We are still at the bottom of the steps and not yet benefiting from the information about the cars they work with, says Dino Beganovic.
On the other hand, we have more contact with the stable director Mattia Binotto and the sporting director, Laurent Mikis. They know exactly what we are doing and receive regular reports on our performance.
Biganovic and Ferrari against the title
Sweden has not had a Formula One driver since Marcus Ericsson left in 2018 and no Ferrari since Stefan Johansson drove for the team more than 35 years ago.
Bejanovic is working on the steps to the top and is entering his second season in the European Formula One Championship. He impressed during the start and before the third round, in Monaco as far as Formula 1 is concerned, he leads the championship.
– Since we started the season with tests, the goal has been to fight for the championship title and after this introduction, the goal is the same. Now it’s about focusing on each hero and working on it. Analyzing each weekend competition and constantly improving ourselves.
• Last year, you had a tough season in the same series and long before you were ready to win. You are now undefeated. What have you developed?
– We chose this tournament because they are the best competitors and this year I have more experience and I am better prepared. I know how to set up the weekend, easier to find references on the track and worked many hours with the team at the factory. We’ve worked hard together to make a change, and you have to understand the car and those you’re working with. It’s hard work.
• What does your plan look like for the future?
– If all goes as planned, it will be Formula 3, the support class for Formula 1 next year and then Formula 2. Then you will see how many years you need for that series before you can take the step into Formula 1. I hope that goes well immediately The plan is to drive Formula 1 in three, maybe four years.
The road to Formula 1 is rarely straight, although drivers such as George Russell and Charles Leclerc have won their support series during the first season and have progressed directly to F1. However, last year’s Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri did not take the driver’s seat this year but is a reserve driver in Alpine, and Marcus Ericsson competed for five seasons in GP2, then F2, before advancing to Formula 1.
Education here is good. It’s not like a regular school, but the focus is on self and development to get into Formula 1. It’s a lot about physical training, mental training, analysis and learning how to build a car. To be able to drive fast, you must understand how a car is made. You need to know why some changes are made to the settings and what affects the car to be able to develop speed. It is important to constantly focus on what can be improved. Then we study Italian, because at Ferrari all drivers should be able to speak Italian.
• You are a Ferrari driver, and your efforts are appreciated every day. How do you deal with the press?
– The first year was the hardest, then I was the youngest by two years. Now I have a different experience and a different responsibility. You have a multi-year contract, but it must be confirmed by Ferrari at the end of each year. This means you have to perform, you have to take care of yourself on and off the track. This is what applies if you want a chance to reach the top.
Speaking of F1 Ferrari, the team is looking for a new lighter touch to make the car even lighter. You can read more here.
Here you can listen to this week’s F1 podcast, Plattan i Mattan, with the talk after the Miami GP. Also available where podcasts are available. Now it’s time to talk about this weekend’s competition in Spain, a new broadcast is coming tomorrow and then we’ll have a nice visit from Felix Rosenqvist!
Here are the times before the Grand Prix of Spain
Friday 20 May:
14.00-15.00 Training 1
17.00-18.00 Training 2
Saturday, May 21:
13.00-14.00 Training 3
16.00 – 17.00 High Quality
Sunday, May 22:
Spanish Grand Prix at 15.00-17.00
As always, you can follow our live coverage at Target F1 Service. Qualification and racing with live comments.
Short news:
Andertti Austosport wants to get into Formula 1. The team belongs to Michael Andretti, son of former champion Mario Andretti and is a representative of IndyCar, Extreme E and Formula E. The stable is ready to pay the $200 million entry fee, but also needs the team’s blessing and that’s even harder.
Today, there are ten teams in Formula 1 and ten teams share revenue. If there was an eleventh team, there would be little thought for each team.
– Now we have ten teams and we are distributing the prize money to ten stables. “We’ve invested a lot of money in recent years and all the teams here have probably invested a billion dollars in the Formula One project in recent years,” Mercedes Toto Wolff said during a press conference on Miami GP.
– You should make a profit. If there is a new team, how will they be able to prove that they contribute more money than costs? The team’s eleventh number means that we lose ten percent of our profits.
Andretti Autosport should break this down, can they get into F1 and make sure the business is expanded to other teams, is there likely to be an interest? But if that reduces the work of existing teams instead, they don’t want to allow Andertti to join the royal tier.
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Jack Doohan, who is motorcycle legend Mick Doohan, completed his first Formula One test. This weekend he drove the Alpine A521 from 2021 in Qatar. Jake Doohan is competing in Formula 2 this year and is part of the Alpine Academy, just like Oscar Piastri, who won in Formula 2 last year. Biastri will also test the Alps from 2021 during early summer
Jack Doohan’s father, Mick, won five World Cup titles in the 500cc between 1994 and 1998.