Home in Sheffield between races, 19 year old GB3 driver Rowan Campbell-Pilling spoke to Forge Press about his recent racing success and contributions to Sheffield.
Now over half way through the season Rowan has brought home a run of 3 podiums from F1 tracks Hungaroring (P3) and Silverstone (P3 and P2).
Q: You got your first podium in GB3 at Hungary and now you’ve had two more at Silverstone. So how are you feeling about that?
“It was an incredible achievement.
“We went into Silverstone, we were strong from the get go, the team put an amazing car out all week and then to come away with 2 podiums in the nonreverse grid races was incredible. And a front row start as well from qualifying pace which was amazing.”
Despite his achievements Rowan talked us through the challenges he has overcome in between.
He said: “We went to Austria, Red Bull Ring, which was really cool and out there we had a bit of a problem. Obviously it’s my first year in this car so it’s a much higher level, it’s much more difficult to manage tire degradation and tire management and that sort of thing.
If you’re not well practised at that then that’s going to cost you performance.
“I think the experience side let us down there and although the one lap pace was good over qualifying the races, we never converted the results. So in Austria we had two P4 starts and we didn’t have a podium, which was a shame really because the pace was really strong and we were fast enough for a podium.
“But coming into the second half of the season, coming away from Austria which was a bit gutting to be honest, it’s all about converting the results and consolidating on that performance and pace we’ve had.”
Q: You crashed during your second race in Hungary, that’s got to be pretty scary. How do you come back from something like that?
“I think you’ve just got to keep on going, you know like it’s out of your control right?
“If you spend all your time worrying about things that are out of your control you’re never going to get anything done in life in general. There’s nothing I could have done about it so, you can be sad about it for a little bit but ultimately you’ve got to focus on your next race which was race three for us, which we went and did and we got a podium there.”
Q: Can you tell me a bit about what training is like for you and how it might have changed from last year?
“It’s not necessarily what you’re doing but the intensity and the frequency of it, you just up that. So it’s the same sort of things, you’re focusing heavily on cardio to make sure you’re lean. But also you need a bit more strength because the GB3 car is heavier, it’s faster, you’ve got more downfall so you’re under more load through high speed corners.”
In addition to an intense training schedule Rowan faces the introduction of DRS zones to the GB3 track. An introduction which was made in 2025 altering the previous assertion that drivers wouldn’t be allowed to use DRS until Formula 3.
Rowan said: “Yes, DRS is brand new in this GB3 car for me, we don’t have that in F4.
“I can’t elaborate too much but you’ve got an awful lot more going on in a GB3 car over a lap. So it’s obviously a big, big jump as well as it’s much faster, there’s a lot more downforce so you’re carrying much more speed through corners.
“So I think to show the pace that we have had so far this year, and that I hope that we’ll continue to have till the end of the year, it’s really strong.”
Q: You’re in a new team with Lucas and Ricardo this year, how is that? What’s the team dynamic like?
“Lucas lives in Spain, I live in Sheffield obviously and Ricardo, well we call him Caddy, he lives in Brazil. So it’s not exactly a convenient meet up.
“Obviously we spend pretty much every weekend together when we’re at the tracks and when we’re racing so you get to know them very well. You get to know their personal life a bit and obviously the racing side of them. ”
Q: This is Lucas’ second year in GB3, has he had any advice for you?
“I think the one thing that Lucas has been very strong with this year is he’s got that experience under his belt, he knows how to manage a tire as it’s degrading and dropping off its peak and the experience factor of driving in dirty air.
“The racecraft is a bit different to F4 so car placement and positioning is very important and I think that’s been his strength this year and it’s something that we for sure have learnt off.”
Q: Looking forward to your next race Donington, do you think you’ll be able to maintain a podium?
“I hope so, Donington’s pretty much our home race.
“It’ll be great to have an awful lot of support there, home support and we’ll have family, friends, partners, it’s going to be manic. So it’d be great to bring home a great result for everyone there in support of us and to show everyone what we can do.
“I see no reason why we can’t go and do that, I’m training harder than ever, I’m preparing better than ever.”
Q: Obviously your competition is one of the biggest factors you’re facing when you’re out there and you’ve got some pretty strong contenders like Nikita. You’re seventh in the standings now right?
“I think so, yeah. I don’t particularly have an eye on the championship because for me this year is just to learn as much as possible. It’s as simple as that. To learn to convert the results, to learn how to race in these cars, to learn what you can and can’t do.
“As long as I’m learning every weekend then that’s all we can ask for.”
Q: What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned from racing so far this year?
“I think tire degradation is a big one, a tire degrades in formula 4 but not nearly to the level of this and as you go further and further up it only gets worse.
“The tire does drop off so to speak so it’s about adapting to that really quickly, noticing the small signs very early on and then applying that and changing stuff to drive around it.”
Q: Going back to Sheffield, do you think there’s enough facilities there for those who want to get into racing?
“I’m doing quite a lot of work with schools at the moment and stuff like that to try and promote grassroots motorsport a bit more in Sheffield and to get it more known about.
“I think there’s an awful lot of careers that tie in with motorsport and I think it’s great to try and promote that to the next generation.”
Rowan is working with school children from both primary and secondary ages in Sheffield.
He said: “I go and support the GUTS event “Get Up To Speed” at Gullivers Kingdom every year.
“I did another GUTS event last year in Rotherham, I think there were about 3000 school children there which was insane. Getting to talk to all of them and try to inspire the next generation of engineers, mechanics, racing drivers, you name it, to try and promote this incredible sport that we’re a part of.
Q: You’re an ambassador for Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity. Have you got anything planned for that?
“We’ve got the Steel City Cup which we run annually and it’s a karting race. The businesses tend to enter teams of 3 or 4 people and so you get a 20 minute qualifying and then you get a 2 hour endurance race which is great.
“Teams come and they race for the prestigious Steel City Cup title and it raises money for the Sheffield children’s hospital charity.
“I think about 30 something businesses put teams in so it was an awful lot of people. We had to spread it over three days and then the top 2 from each heat have gone through to the final which is happening in September.”
Q: Is it hard to manage that on top of your racing?
“I think it never hurts to give back. One thing that I’m really passionate about is to try and inspire but also promote amazing things within our incredible city.
“It’s incredible to try and promote the work that goes on in Sheffield, especially within the children’s hospital because there’s so much groundbreaking research and development that goes on there and all to look after children which is incredible.”
Q: Why did you choose this charity to raise money for?
“What better charity to support that one you have a personal connection to right?
“When I was about three months old I was in the children’s hospital with a serious chest infection and I was a young vulnerable baby at the time.
“I can probably say that I owe my life to them. So to be able to give back to a charity and a hospital that does so much for so many youngsters in and around Sheffield and South Yorkshire.
“I think it’s a really important and vital part of Sheffield.”
Q: Is there anything you want to say to your fans in Sheffield?
“I’m very passionate about flying the flag of Sheffield and South Yorkshire at whatever level we’re racing at and the trajectory we’re on. I can’t wait to represent you all well at Donington soon.”
