After an impressive debut year for the Argenti Motorsport name in 2020, the now renamed Phinsys by Argenti squad are entering 2021 with a fresh driver lineup consisting of impressive rookie from last year, Matias Zagazeta. And the the Peruvian driver will be joined by two exciting rookies in Australian Marcos Flack and Filipino promise Edoardo Coseteng.
Both with impressive karting records, we had a chat with them as they discussed how they’re settling in with Argenti as well as how they’re using the experience of Zagazeta to gain the knowledge required to gun for title success in this year’s British F4 campaign, which kicks off in just under a week at the famed high speed Thruxton circuit.
The young rookies were both quick to speak of what it’s like in their new environments at Argenti, as well as what it’s like having Zagazeta as a benchmark and how their pre-season testing has been going so far.
“So far it seems really good. I’m really gelling well with the car and its been great to work with the team so far. I’m really just finding my place and starting to push to get to where I need to be for the season opener and beyond.
“It’s great having Matias in the team, he’s really fast. He’s really been helping me driving-wise, giving me some tips and helping me out with where I need to be and what I need to do.” said Flack.
“It’s one of the reasons I joined Argenti, with Matias having a lot of experience and has been impressing so far in the pre-season testing. We have a lot of Matias’ data, so we can pump in faster lap times and learn off of his experience.
Testing’s been quite good actually, the pace is definitely getting there. Maybe not as much as Matias, we were fifth at the Brands test. Still need some work to debut I’m very pleased with the progress made so far.” added Coseteng.
And for both drivers, joining the British F4 championship seemed to be the obvious choice after watching some clips of last year’s action and immediately being enticed to make the step up to single seaters here on the British Isles.
“I saw the season last year and came over to do a few test days with Argenti and I saw the potential in the season and figured it was a great place to start learning.” said Flack.
“I’ve been watching quite. few videos from British F4 from last year and also in terms of word of mouth that it’s a very good championship. Also because I’m based in the UK, so it’s only sensible to go to the series.” explained Coseteng.
Edoardo Coseteng becomes the first driver to represent the Philippines at the level, and he was showing plenty of gratitude towards his friends and family back home, recognising the fortunate events of being able to race abroad even with the smaller racing community in his native land maybe attributing to the lack of opportunities for young Filipino racers.
“Yeah it’s been great! Being the first Filipino driver, and everyone back home has been really supportive. I’ve got quite a few fans back home cheering me on with the accomplishment I’ve made. It’s pretty fortunate to be in my place right now, because the Philippines don’t really have my drivers racing and it’s quite a small community so yeah, being here right I’m very very fortunate.” said Coseteng.
Coseteng also talked of the benefits in being under the tutelage Team principal Michael Meadows, who has plenty of racing experience himself, and how that can push not just himself forward this year, but also team mates Flack and Zagazeta.
“Michael’s been really great so far, he’s been really helpful with driver tips and everything. I’ve been quite a lot from him compared to other team managers as Michael is quite experienced first hand with the racing part. I think it’s definitely an advantage to be joining Argenti because the team owner raced himself and was quite good back in the day.” said Coseteng.
Next up was the interesting topic of the full reverse grid race that’s been added to the sporting regulations for 2021, and how both Flack and Coseteng will be approaching these in their rookie seasons, as well as how they’ve been adapting to the tracks in the UK.
“I think it’s going to be quite interesting actually with quite an impressed number of people on the grid compared to last year. And a fully reversed grid with 17 or 18 drivers will make things quite interesting with strategy and the tyres.
“I think it was a bit easier than expected. The simulator is very good so we learnt the tracks quite fast. All of the tracks are quite tight and strict with track limits, but I think after the few test days we’ve done I’ve been able to adjust to the car and track quite quickly.” said Coseteng.
“I think it’ll be a great experience to be able to learn the racing and having to charge through the field trying to get a result with plenty of overtaking an coming from the back.
“The tracks are really nice over here, even though some of them are quite skinny and unforgiving. The circuits are really enjoyable to drive so I’m finding it quit easy to adapt to.” added Flack.
And finally, Coseteng and Flack discussed their main challenges going into the year and what they can expect.
“I think the main challenge for me is the change of scenery, coming from karting. New cars, new tracks, and having a lot more grip in the car. There’s a lot of things to adjust and adapt to and I’m expecting that to be the biggest challenge for me this year.” said Coseteng.
“This is my debut year in car racing so right now I’m just learning what I need to do and what I need to improve on through the season!” expressed Flack.
The 2021 season begins at the high-speed Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire on 08-09 May.
