Dino Beganovic on 2025 with Hitech TGR and his “special” Bahrain weekend with Ferrari

Dino Beganovic may not have had the start to his 2025 campaign that he would have liked, but the Hitech TGR driver is still upbeat about his chances this season.

Through the first six rounds of the year, the Swede is 10th in the Standings with 29 points, having achieved one Pole Position that turned into a Feature Race P3 in Imola.

Speaking before that weekend got underway, Beganovic acknowledged that he “wished for a better start”, but he was also feeling good about what was to come and about his new environment at Hitech.

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Since graduating to single seaters in 2020, the 21-year-old had driven exclusively with PREMA Racing, and together they achieved plenty, including winning the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.

But ahead of 2025, Beganovic switched to their British rivals for his first full campaign in F2, and he revealed why he chose to do so.

“I was with PREMA for a long time,” he said. “I still feel like I know most people there. Most people there are family, I have basically grown up with them, since I was 15 or 16.

“It wasn't that difficult to part ways, because it felt like we had done so much together already, and it felt like I needed a new start, and I feel Hitech is the right place for that.”

ADAPTING TO NEW SURROUNDINGS

Beganovic also spoke about how differently the two junior formula outfits operate. He used Lewis Hamilton’s move from Mercedes to Ferrari as an example of how he has to adapt.

“It's a huge difference,” Beganovic explained. “Both in the way they work, but also obviously cultures. The Italian one is particular one type of way, but so is the British one.

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“It's a big difference, but it's not negative in anyway, things are positive and I am really enjoying things with my new team.

“I know everyone is different but you can also see it with Lewis now at Ferrari. He is getting up to speed race by race, getting used to the different culture and the way of working.

“It's about adapting as well as you can from there side, but also from my side, to make our teamwork as good as it can be.”

ENDING THE 2024 SEASON ON A HIGH

Hitech is not the only F2 team that Beganovic has driven for, as he saw out the final two rounds of the 2024 campaign in Lusail and Yas Marina with DAMS Lucas Oil.

The Scuderia Ferrari Academy member shone brightly across those weekends and achieved his first podium in the Championship at the Yas Marina Sprint Race, finishing third.

This came off the back of a tough second Formula 3 season, where Beganovic ended up sixth in the Drivers’ Championship with two victories and four podiums in total.

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For the Swede, his results at the end of 2024 F2 campaign, when he finished in the points at three of the final four races, helped to restore the confidence he admits he lost.

“It's actually where I feel like I should be, at the top,” he said. “I was there in my first year of F3, I won Regional, I won in F4, so it's where I should be. It was just a really difficult F3 season last year.

“For me getting everything right with the car is big, and I wasn't happy with a lot of things and it impacted the results in the end. It just felt nice to get a chance in F2, and even though we went into those two weekends saying it was for experience and learning, which it was, we ended up proving people wrong.

“Even in the end, I proved what I could do to myself, which was super nice, and when I look back at 2024, I look back at those two rounds, not really at the Formula 3 season.

“It was really nice to start my F2 journey that way, to get back that feeling of this is how it should be, this is Dino, and this is what I got told many times after as well. It was like 'He is back' after a tough season.”

Beganovic revealed that his confidence had already been shaken going into the 2024 F3 season as the highest-returning driver from 2023 – where he finished sixth.

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So, he started working with a mental trainer in Sweden as it “hurt” him not to move up to Formula 2 with the top five from that season. While he did struggle in 2024, he says, “If I worked the same way as I did before last year, I would have struggled a lot more.”

RECEVING FERRARI’S BACKING

Now Beganovic sees his mental approach as a strength and his confidence is back up, not only because of his positive end to the campaign, but also because of Ferrari’s support.

The Swedish driver has been a member of the SFDA since 2020 and revealed that even though he did not achieve their target of winning the 2024 F3 title, they still supported him. So Beganovic was pleased to “prove them right” with his F2 performances.

Beganovic believes that Ferrari’s decision to continue with him is also based on what they see from him behind the scenes, especially his simulator work.

That now includes the Hitech rookie’s form at the private testing days in the Formula 1 car, and also his performance at his debut F1 weekend outing in Bahrain, a surreal experience for the young Swede.

“I was not that nervous before the FP1,” said Beganovic. “I was a lot more nervous for my first time driving the car in January. But the day before I did get a little nervous, only because I was in the meeting with all the people that work at Ferrari, and obviously Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

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“I'm taking Charles' place, and I'm driving next to Lewis Hamilton, in a Ferrari. If you told me six months ago I would be doing that, in my deepest moments in F3, I would have never believed that.

“Everything can change very quickly, and my lock screen is amazing, it's me and Lewis next to each other on track. Also, my first time driving in an official F1 session, with Ferrari, it's not any other team, it's Ferrari, with a red suit, it was just really special.”

FOCUS ON THE REST OF THE 2025 SEASON

That moment has still not quite sunk in yet for Beganovic, because his focus quickly shifted to Formula 2. The aim is for him and Hitech to hit start firing on all cylinders soon, and looking back at their recent history, he believes now is the time.

“Looking at it results wise, last year they had been strong on these European tracks, which is a confidence boost.”

A big reason for Beganovic’s confidence is that he is feeling good in the car and that there is still a long way to go in the season, and no driver has run away with the title yet. Currently he trails leader Alexander Dunne by 58 points but he says, “things can change very quickly”.

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However, the competitiveness of the current field means that he has to be at his best.

“It's very competitive, especially in quali, the small things can make a big difference,” Beganovic explained. “Compared to last year, because I drove last year, the biggest difference is we had a top three or top four that were clearly ahead, but now it's 10 or more that can be on pole.

“Even the guys in 13th and 14th can be on a podium. It makes it an interesting season, but again it puts pressure on scoring points in every race, to keep being at the top.”

That is Beganovic’s goal, to be on top. “My target is to win, my aim is to win and my goal is to be fighting for the Championship.” His aim is to do exactly what his friend and 2024 F2 Champion, Gabriel Bortoleto did.

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“Bortoleto is a clear example, not giving the F1 teams an option not to choose him,” he added. “That's what every driver wants, it's what I want as well, you don't leave any option, they have to take you and let the results and performance speak.

“I'm going to do my best, and normally that's pretty good. When I am happy, I am usually in a good spot, so just going to focus on that and then at the end of the year, see where we are. But keep going like I've done with Ferrari, in the sim and also with my team in F2.”