November 16 marks ten years to the day since Felix scored a career-defining first victory at the Macau Grand Prix.
The legendary Chinese event, then acting as a Formula 3 world finale, remains the undisputed highlight of the junior motor racing season as the fastest up-and-coming drivers from around the globe gather on the ultra-demanding Guia street track.
Now, exactly one decade on from that crucial 2014 success, we look back on a very special period of time in the former Portuguese colony that also included a repeat win for Felix the following year.
It’s now been exactly ten years since your first Macau Grand Prix victory. What are some of the moments that you remember from that win and that weekend in Macau?
FRO: Leading up to it, I remember I came off a pretty tough season (in European F3). With Macau being the final race of the year, I recall the pressure but also the excitement of trying to prove myself. Macau has always been that kind of place: if you win that race it’s such a big statement that can change everything.
So I remember my focus and the feeling of importance going into it. I really wanted to have a good one and I came really well-prepared. I don’t think I did much else that week than talking to my engineer, going to the hotel, sleeping and thinking about the race.
I remember being very nervous leading up to the race on Sunday, but it was also good focus. I told myself before the start that if I can handle this kind of pressure, which was definitely the most I’d ever had in my career, then it’s going to be something good for me. And I did. I won it, and it was a race I’d dreamed about winning since I was very young, because I took my first racing steps in Asia (in Formula Renault). So, Macau always had a special place for me even before I won it. It was a life-changing week for me.
Then you returned a year later and managed to win again. What was that like?
FRO: Going back the year after, it was a different story. I decided to do another year in F3 and won the European Championship with Prema, so it was definitely a more relaxed setting going into it. It wasn’t the same pressure of having to perform, but having won it once and being the veteran in F3 at that point, I wanted to prove to the youngsters that I was still the one to beat. Pretty quickly that sense of importance and pressure came back during the event.
It did feel more like a matter of execution that weekend, though, rather than trying to prove anything. You need a certain amount of luck to win in Macau as well, so the fact that I won it twice, things have to play into your hands a little bit. There are high chances of crashing, red flags in qualifying, and things that sometimes you simply can’t control.
To get the pole and the win again was just phenomenal. My second victory was more of a fun one where I enjoyed the week a bit more, had a laugh with my team-mates and my engineer, and it’s a great memory.
Reflecting back on your Macau Grand Prix victories, how did those wins influence the next steps in your career?
FRO: I think winning Macau is probably my biggest career-changer. Especially the first one, but also the fact that I did two of them, it’s a statement that you’re able to cope with a lot of complexity. It’s a very challenging track, a challenging weekend format and the toughest competitors in the world at that level. It was a huge strengthening of my CV going forward into the professional chapter of my career. I think honestly, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Macau.
What are some of your fondest memories of Macau?
FRO: Lots of them! I think just racing there for the first time (in 2010) was very, very cool. I kind of looked up to a lot of the drivers that raced that weekend. It was Valtteri Bottas, Roberto Merhi, Edoardo Mortara… A lot of big names in junior racing.
I was very young at the time and we came in a one-off deal with Performance Racing, a Swedish team, and were able to qualify seventh and finish the race in ninth. It was pretty cool and the first time I really put my name on the international map.
Doing the track walk that week is something I really remember, seeing the elevation of the circuit for the first time. Also visiting the casinos, the restaurants, and just the whole experience that makes Macau what it is away from the track as well.
Going through it all, hanging out with the big teams, the big names in the sport, that’s something I will never forget. It was almost as special as winning the race a few years later.
After your time in F3, you returned again in 2017 competing in the Macau GT Cup. Is this something you’d like to do again?
FRO: Doing the GT race in 2017, that was a really cool experience. It was a completely different challenge. I would almost say it was harder in a way, because the track felt so much tighter in those big cars – but they’re still very fast. It felt like you had even less margin for mistakes.
Also, due to the nature of those cars, if you have a crash you’re potentially done for the weekend. It takes a lot to rebuild them, so it’s more of risk versus reward in the GT race I think. Then there’s all the different manufacturers, Balance of Performance, and all that comes with that. It was completely different to the F3 years, and in the end we actually didn’t make it to Sunday because of that famous pile-up in the qualifying race.
It’s definitely something I’d like to do again, and to be honest: any reason to come to Macau, I’ll be there. I hope to be back again soon.
