[F3] Interview with Alex Peroni: "I'm 100% fit and ready to race"

Second round of the quarantine interviews! After talking with Bent Viscaal, today we bring you another F3 driver. It is Campos Racing driver Alex Peroni-

Alexander Peroni (Hobart, Australia, 1999) is one of the promises of Aussie's motorsport. As his fellow countrymen, he had to emigrate to Europe to made steps forward single-seaters. He made his debut in 2015 in the F4 Italian Championship, where he scored two podiums in Imola and Misano. After that, he absolutely smashed it on the unknown V de V Challenge, with 14 wins in 21 races. Then he jumped into Formula Renault, for the 2.0 series in 2017 and in the Eurocup Series in 2018. He did it well there, as he scored a win in each of both seasons.

In 2019 he tried on the new Formula 3 Championship. He had to show more skills there, as the level increased. His team, Campos Racing, didn't have a competitive pace, but Alex was up to the level of the car, and beat his teammates.

He, though, couldn't finish the season as he had a big crash in Monza's Feature Race, which he scaped uninjured. Alex is now fully recovered, and ready to start again his adventure in Formula 3 with Campos.

Question: Hi Alex! Thanks for accepting the interview. How are you feeling?

Alex Peroni: No worries. Pretty good just trying to stay focused and be ready for when we race again, whenever that might be.

Q: How are you dealing with this time without real racing?

AP: Only thing I can do is train basically. In Australia we are in a kind of lockdown so very restricted with what I can do. Probably not quite as bad as Spain but we still all have to stay at home as much as possible.

Q: Are you trying to keep entertained with sim racing?

AP: I don’t have a sim unfortunately. We race on a very tight budget and because I've been living mostly in Europe for the last 5 years we have never had the need for a sim here at home.

Q: How have changed your training routine in this quarantine time?

AP: A little bit just because I don't have the equipment but honestly its pretty similar. I have borrowed some gym equipment from my trainer here in Australia and we have turned our garage into a gym.

Alex made his debut in F3 in 2019 with Campos - © LAT Images

Q: 2019 was a good season given the performance of the team Campos. You were the leading driver by far, though you only could score 4 points. How would you rate your 2019 season overall?

AP: Probably the hardest year of my 13 year career so far. We definitely deserved more points. I thought we had top 10 pace in races but it just didn’t happen probably because we struggled to find pace in qualifying. Then obviously the crash didn’t help, haha.

Q: You shocked all motorsport fans and lovers in Monza with your heavy crash. Are you feeling better from that?

AP: Yeah all good. It was a tough period especially the recovery but now I’m fine and I believe I'm stronger.

Q: How was that sensation of flying? Were you scared? Actually you really scared us a lot…

AP: Haha sorry about that. I was knocked out so I don't remember it which is a good thing. I'm putting it all behind me. I look at the crash but I can't place myself there.

Q: How was the recovery process? Are you feeling now 100%?

AP: Very tough and long. Sucked a lot missing the final round and Macau but I was lucky to walk away like I did. Back is 100% healed and feeling good. I think pre-season testing in Bahrain proved that I'm 100% fit and ready to race.

Alex shocked us with his spectacular crash in Monza
back in September 2019 - © LAT Images

Q: So, let’s talk about this stand-by season. In testing you were in top positions especially on the afternoon. P2, P3, and P1 on the last day. Results to be a bit optimistic, aren’t they?

AP: Yeah, pre-season testing in Bahrain was positive. We had our own issues especially on day 2 but we resolved them and continuously improved the car which was the goal. We still have a lot of work to do but it's always good to start the season in such a positive way, especially after making many changes from last year which shows we have moved in the right direction.

Q: What is the target for 2020? Are you focusing on the title this year with more experience?

 AP: You always have to aim to win but in this very tight category I aim to be consistently in the top 5. 

Q: You are racing for a Spanish team, which is very close to us, so you’re kind of our driver to support. How’s the relationship with the team?

AP: Very good, I’m happy to be with Campos for another year. I love living in Valencia and the team feels like a family now which makes me feel very comfortable.

Alex set quickest times on preseason testing in March - © LAT Images

Q: And with your teammates? This will be your second season with Alessio, and now you’ll joined by Sophia Flörsch.

AP: Yeah It’s pretty relaxed with both teammates. I think we’ll all  get along well this year.

Q: The next natural step on your career would be F2. Do you think that would be possible in 2021?

AP: For sure. Depends on a lot of things but if I do well in F3 it should be possible. There aren't many seats in F2 so we need to put all of our effort into making the most of the F3 season.