Karting triumph and Budapest brilliance: Zak O’Sullivan on the moments that made him

New arrival at ART Grand Prix, Zak O’Sullivan has been making strides up the single seater pyramid over the years and arrives in Formula 2 fresh from his finest season to date, finishing second in the 2023 F3 Championship.

The British rookie reflects on his journey so far and picks out three key events that helped propel him from UK racing talent to F2 star.

BRITISH KART GRAND PRIX, 2016

“Going back to karting in 2016, I won the British Kart Grand Prix. In Karting, it’s a big one-off race in PFI in the UK once a year. It was a really cool race to win, one that everyone wants to win. I came from quite far back, so that was a cool moment, it was my first big win in motorsport.

“I enjoyed karting. It’s a lot more relaxed than F2 and F3 level. You’re all learning your craft, the racing is super close and super aggressive, especially in K-Karts, it was very competitive. There were always 10-15 drivers that could win a race.

“That particular event was a one-off race in the summer. Everyone wanted to win that race and I was luckily able to do so. It was an amazing battle with some super close racing.

“I can’t remember where I started, maybe 11th or so. It was a very hectic last lap and I ended up going through from sixth into the lead on the very last sector. So it wasn’t a very expected win but I enjoyed it.”

HUNGARY, F3 FEATURE RACE 2022

“One race would be Hungary Feature Race in 2022 in F3. I went from pretty much last to fourth with a gamble on tyres. Not necessarily a race that made me but one where we took a risk with the team and it paid off, which is quite rare in motorsport. It was a race that I really, really enjoyed.

“We struggled that year, we hadn’t qualified well that year and I had an issue that meant I didn’t get the last run, so ended up 22nd or something.

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“In the race, the track was wet, we took the risk to box for slicks quite early, dropped to the back but the gamble paid off and I came through to fourth in the end.

“It was enjoyable, I was passing 10 cars a lap by the end, so it was about clearing as many cars as possible. The track was drying with every lap, so it was a cool race. My engineer was on the radio, and we didn’t have a clue where we were going to finish. At one point we thought we might actually win it. It was a cool race and very enjoyable.”

HUNGARY, F3 FEATURE RACE 2023

“Then last year, we were quick again all weekend and the pace we had was very nice. It all went very smoothly which again is very rare in motorsport, so that was a race I enjoyed, and I look back on fondly.

“It was a really good weekend. We had some issues in the first part of the year and that weekend I think was a turnaround and the result of some changes we made that really paid off. From then on, we were really fast for the rest of the year, and I could start scoring some good points.

“It was a bit of a turning point in the season and a nice place to do it on quite a dominant weekend as well. A win is always nice, especially a Feature Race win, the confidence comes from being fastest all weekend and the team and myself were all weekend. It was nice to have that upper hand across three days of racing.”