A lot of fine-tuning work

The final meeting of the season got off to a positive start for Dario Cabanelas.

"Finding myself in 2nd position on one of the ranking sheets during the pre-event tests was extremely satisfying. I was able to demonstrate my competitiveness in this difficult Championship," commented Dario. "This kind of performance is important for building confidence and proves that it's essential to be able to exploit the car's full potential. Unfortunately, I had a few problems finding the same sensations over the following days."

"With the Saintéloc team, we did a lot of work sweeping up numerous solutions to improve my feeling and gain in efficiency. The team and I only discovered Eurocup 3 in September at the fifth round of the season. Both of us are here to learn and gather as much information as possible. Of course, I start every practice session and every race trying to get the best possible result, but the main objective is to aim for the front runners in 2024."

A difficult balance to strike

P14 in the first Qualifying session and P13 in Race 1, Dario was disappointed with his day on Saturday. It has to be said that the Swiss driver was discovering the Barcelona circuit in real competitive conditions against rivals who had raced several times on this difficult track.

"You have to find the balance between fast corners and slower ones, which requires a perfectly tuned car. If I increased the efficiency of the front end, I gained time in the low-speed corners, but the car developed oversteer in the fast sections and vice versa. For Sunday, we continued to analyse the data and arrived at a much more efficient set-up on Sunday."

Efforts rewarded

At the same time, Dario worked hard on his start phases and first-lap management in order to be more effective in the pack. 12th on the grid for Race 2, he quickly gained positions, managing to fight with drivers who have been in the top five since the first of the season's eight meetings, although the Swiss has only contested four of them. In the end, Dario crossed the chequered flag in 10th place and climbed to 3rd place on the Rookies podium.

"Since I was runner-up in the F4 Junior Championship in 2021, I'm sure I've made huge progress, both in terms of my driving and my physique. I intend to make the most of the coming off-season to accelerate my preparation even further. The Eurocup3 season in 2024 will be important for the rest of my career. I'd also like to thank the Saintéloc team, my partners and all my supporters for this promising start to my career in this category, in which I'm aiming to win a lot of races."

About Dario Cabanelas

Dario Cabanelas made his debut in single-seater racing in 2021, as part of the French F4 Championship run by the FFSA Academy. Born on 21st July 2006, the young hopeful, who lives near Lausanne, quickly demonstrated his strong potential by finishing runner-up in the French Junior Championship and winning several races in his category. In his second year of F4 in 2022, he made it into the top 10 of the FIA rankings at just 16 years of age, finishing on the podium on several occasions.

A Swiss national, but also the grandson of a Spanish-Gallego emigrant, as well as having Ukrainian origins, Dario Cabanelas has always impressed with his strong determination. Fast and ambitious, he is fully committed to his goal of reaching the highest level of motor sport.

A student in the FFSA Academy's sport-study section since the age of 14, Dario has chosen to take things to the next level in 2023 by entering the highly competitive and prestigious Eurocup-3 Championship with the Saintéloc team, a benchmark in the field. Considered one of the top five Swiss drivers by his federation, the Swiss driver has surrounded himself with numerous sporting and financial partners to continue his ascent.