Rashid Al Dhaheri is already feeling good about the progress he is making alongside Van Amersfoort Racing after tackling post-season testing. The Emirati driver has his eyes firmly fixed on getting up to speed quickly for his 2027 FIA Formula 3 campaign after being confirmed with the squad.
As the sole rookie in the Van Amersfoort lineup for 2027, Al Dhaheri is in a prime position to lean on his second-year teammates for guidance. He plans to extract every ounce of experience from them to build a solid foundation. "There's a lot of experience for me to gain. At this moment, it's just about learning, understanding, and using my teammates who are second-year drivers, to gain as much as I can from them, and I think at the end, the performance is there," he explained. He noted that the team is supplying brilliant information and that testing is the ideal time to make mistakes so he can anticipate scenarios later in the year.
The machinery itself presents a proper challenge, specifically when it comes to the Pirelli rubber. While he joked that the machine shares the basics with any other—four wheels, an engine, and a steering wheel—the execution is an entirely different beast. Tyre warm-up, finding the operating window, and managing degradation make the process far more complex, though he believes the fundamental driving skills remain the same and simply require fine-tuning.
Looking ahead to the months before the 2027 season kicks off, the Mercedes Junior Team driver intends to use his winter break to prepare physically, mentally, and technically. He plans to stay active, push through simulator work, and study the data intensely before pre-season testing arrives early next year. "I don't really like time off, so I'll be getting as many days as possible doing something," Al Dhaheri said, making it clear he is ready for the hard work ahead.
