Oliver Stewart feels he is ready to make his presence felt among the frontrunners in the F4 British Championship.
Stewart, from Beauly, is at the midway stage of his debut season in the championship, having been signed up by Hitech GP at the start of this year.
His last event at Croft, in Yorkshire, was his most successful thus far, as he recorded a fourth-placed finish along with a Rookie Cup victory.
At just 15, Stewart is among the youngest drivers competing in the F4 British Championship this season.
Stewart’s next event comes this weekend, in the only Scottish race on the calendar, at Knockhill.
Having taken time to adapt following the step up from karting last year, Stewart says he is increasingly feeling at home in his new surroundings.
Stewart said: “I have seen a massive change.
“It was a big adjustment for me. In karting, I enjoyed being at the front – I was always racing with the quickest drivers.
“To make the jump into F4 and be at the back was a big change.
The first time I went out in the cars, I had no confidence whatsoever. I didn’t know what the limits were, or how good the brakes were.
“Everything was new to me for the first maybe five or six tests, when everybody else had done 40 days, which is still more than I have done now.
“I just had no idea what the car was like, so I just had to learn about it and get a feel for it.
“Now I feel I am driving the car, rather than the car driving me like it was back then.
“I have a lot more confidence, I know what the limits are and how hard I can brake.
“It has got to the stage that I know what makes the car unsettled and what doesn’t, so overall I have learned so much.
“To improve and make massive steps each time, get further forward and keep learning, is major.
“I feel like I enjoy it more now I’m fighting at the front.
“It’s more of an opportunity to show what I can do, and keep progressing.”
Teenager to take confidence into second half of season
Stewart is pleased with the level he has reached at the current stage of his F4 journey, and hopes to continue his progress in the second half of the season.
He added: “It’s going to be a massive confidence boost, considering race three at Croft was only day 28 in the car.
“Everyone else there has done 50-plus, some of them around 100-plus.
“It’s great to be near the front this early on.
“The team are extremely happy at the moment, and I would like to think my sponsors are quite happy as well.
“I will keep putting the effort in and try to get those consistent results. I will push to keep getting better each time. That’s the best I feel I can do.
“As long as I’m learning and improving, even if come the end of the year things don’t end up going well, at least I can look back and say I have done the best I possibly could.”
Knockhill will be special setting for Stewart
Stewart, who attends Charleston Academy, will be backed by more than 100 friends and family members during this weekend’s two-day event at Scotland’s national motorsport centre.
That makes Stewart all the more eager to flourish in Fife.
He added: “It would mean everything to do well at Knockhill.
“We are not short of people coming down, even a few of my school teachers.
“It will be nice to have the home crowd down there, even though it’s still four hours away.
“We are just past the halfway stage. When I started the season my target, which my dad agreed, was one that was quite hard to achieve.
“It was to be getting a few top-three finishes at Knockhill, which I have achieved already, as well as a Rookie Cup win.
“I guess now my targets have changed, and I want to get a race win and maybe a podium as well.
“I just have to do the best I possibly can and see what comes out of it.
“The last time I raced in Scotland was in karting at Larkhall last year, when I won both finals at the British Championship.
“That was amazing for me, but there wasn’t anyone that had come from the Highlands to watch me.
“There will be over 100 people this weekend. There will not necessarily be more pressure, but it will be much more of an achievement to do well.”
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