Instinct versus input: How I Race with Mari Boya

PREMA Racing driver Mari Boya has embarked on his rookie campaign in FIA Formula 2 in 2026.

With plenty of racing mileage now under his belt, we asked the Spaniard how his style has changed over the years, what the big challenges of F2 are and how he likes to balance his setup.

“I would say I'm an aggressive driver, especially on braking. I would point to that as something you have as an instinct. Looking at data, I would say I am never missing time on an entry of a corner. Maybe at some point it's too much and exit is not there, but it's a bit of a compromise.

“To be honest, style, I don't think it's changed that much. Maybe at the start, you don’t have more knowledge about things and your instinct is changing on its own, just because of having more knowledge, but the style itself doesn't change that much.

“We are coming from karting where, already at that point you’re set in your ways more or less, but the instinct of pushing that much and being on the limit is always there. But over time, you end up having more knowledge with the car.

“When setting up the car, it’s something that depends on the car you’re driving, so as a driver you must be able to adapt to the direction that is quickest, not always what you like.

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“I will always go for a stable rear on the entry, as I'm a driver that pushes a lot the entry, it's most likely that I'm suffering some instability on the entry, but when I have this I'm able to be super quick.

“For me, it’s the ideal thing, being able to push the entry and then having the front mid-corner when the entry is done.

“Differences between F3 and F2 - it's weight difference. For me it's the biggest thing. Then the procedures, but it's still a racing car. You just maybe need to be a bit more patient with it, as it's heavier in the weight transitions and everything like that.

“The F3 is a car much more light, aggressive, nervous, and in F2 maybe you have to be a bit smoother on some transitions because you need to wait a bit more the weight transition. But for the rest it's not that big a difference.”