Experience at the lower levels of motorsport is such a vital asset to have if you’re looking at staking your claim for a championship, and the British F4 Championship is no exception. Matias Zagazeta is coming into his second season racing in the series, and with plenty of rookie and first year drivers coming into the fold for 2021, the Peruvian driver will be hoping that his debut campaign last year will pay dividends in helping him secure the big trophy come season’s end.
Zagazeta took two rookie class wins in 2020, coupled with some strong overall finishes in the top six to finish the season third in class and 12th overall in what was a trying but vital learning experience for the then-Carlin new boy.
Earlier in the week we got the opportunity to have a chat with him as he prepares for the new season in his new home of Argenti Motorsport, making the switch from Carlin after a promising but tricky rookie campaign.
“I think there’s been a massive change for me compared to last year. It’s been going well through testing, and all the experience I gained last year is helping with the preparations I’m doing now.
“Obviously now I know all the tracks, all the progress and what to do in every single race weekend. I think that’s a massive advantage coming into a second year, so I think its going to be great!”
And when asked about joining Argenti Motorsport, he was quick to point out the advantages of having a team manager in Michael Meadows that has racing experience and can help the drivers even more.
“Obviously Michael’s very experienced and he’s been racing in a very high level of motorsport, so in this case it’s very good to have a connection between the team manager and the driver. And he knows how it feels to drive the car and what it takes, so he helps in managing us personally but also with the driving.
Looking ahead to 2021, Zagazeta was also very wary of the challenges that lay ahead, with driving for a new team, as well as re-engaging battle with second season drivers Abbi Pulling and Roman Bilinski, as well as facing new rookies and first year drivers. He wasn’t taking anything for granted.
“I think it will be a very competitive year. I’m expecting it to be very close between all the drivers. I think the biggest challenge will be to see how all the competitors develop through the year, as this championship is ever changing with new drivers joining and other drivers finding form.
“It’ll be very interesting to see how everyone arrives at round one in terms of pace and race craft as that’s very different from testing. Many things can change between now and Thruxton, so I think that’ll be a huge challenge.
The 2021 F4 British Championship season begins at the high-speed Thruxton in Hampshire over the 08-09 May.
