Title fight still possible despite ‘tough start’ to the season says Goethe

1 May 2024

Oliver Goethe acknowledged that he and his Campos Racing team had expected better results to start the season. However, the German driver was still optimistic that they can improve their form starting at Round 3 in Imola.

Goethe is one of three drivers – alongside Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli and PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Minì – to score points in all four races to start the year.

But while the other two have stood on the podium, the Red Bull Academy prospect has been battling in the midfield and currently sits 11th in the Standings with 11 points.

“It’s been a tough start,” said Goethe. “We were expecting more from the first two rounds to be completely honest and now we are looking to fight back. Ideally, we wanted more points but it's still a long way to go and I am really confident for the European rounds.”

Looking back on the first two flyaway rounds for him and his teammates Mari Boya and Sebastián Montoya in Sakhir and Melbourne, Goethe added: “I think in Bahrain we were all missing a little bit in Quali and in this Championship, that makes the biggest difference.

“If you are not in the top 12 it's very tricky to score points and get good results, so for me in Bahrain we were a little bit off the pace in Qualifying and then Melbourne was not so bad.

Goethe admitted he and Campos expected more from the opening two rounds

“Just a little bit more here and there and overall and we could have had a better weekend if things went more our way in the races. I’m quite happy about Melbourne. I think in Bahrain the race pace was very strong, we were just missing a bit more to be in the fight for podiums and wins.”

But Goethe says he still has a “lot of confidence” that he and Campos can turn things around, calling the Spanish squad a “top team” having previously raced in their colours for two rounds in the 2022 season at Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps.

He is set to race at those tracks once again later this year as the European portion of the season kicks off in Imola on May 17-19.

Prior to that, he and Campos had three days of in-season testing in Barcelona, where they caught the eye, setting the fastest times on days two and three. Speaking prior to the test getting underway, Goethe revealed Qualifying pace was a key area of focus heading into Europe.

“It's like I said before, the Qualifying is most important,” he continued. “In Bahrain, Melbourne and also all the post and pre-season tests, the race pace has been very strong with all three drivers.

Goethe is confident that he and the rest of his Campos Racing team can turn their form around in Europe

“For me, if we can nail it in Qualifying, we will have a very good chance to score a lot of points on the weekend. At all the European tracks for the post-season tests for example, the team and I were very strong, so I am confident that we can improve and get more points in the European rounds.”

If they can improve, does Goethe believe he can still fight for the title? He is currently 26 points off top spot, which is held by Fornaroli and Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning, each on 37.

“Yeah, for sure,” said Goethe, when asked if a title fight was still possible. “I believe in myself, and I believe I am capable of competing for Feature Race wins and podiums. If we can manage to do that in the next few rounds, I definitely believe that the title fight is still on. That's the goal.”