An interview with… McKenzy Cresswell

Throughout the 2021 F4 British Championship season, Motul and partners Witham Motorsport have been supporting JHR Developments in their push for title glory, including driver McKenzy Cresswell.

Cresswell – one of four front-running ‘starts of tomorrow’ at the Derbyshire team – took some time out ahead of the next event at Oulton Park to run us through his season so far, in his own words…

It’s been a really positive start to the season, for me. I think you could almost say in many ways, it’s been a dream start, I’m really pleased with how the first three rounds at Thruxton, Snetterton and Brands Hatch have gone.

There are always things you want to improve as a racing driver and, of course, we could be leading the championship, but the key thing over the last month has been to keep working hard, keep the intensity level high, because the competition certainly won’t be easing off, so neither can I.

The break has been a really good exercise for me, in terms of reflecting on my start to life in single seaters and identifying what areas I need to improve on, now I have a better idea of where I stand, compared to the competition. Everybody is naturally quite guarded during winter testing, so competing on-track at the race weekends has been very useful to get a sense for where the competition is at.

For me, the key thing to work on has been my race craft. Because we’ve had some good qualifying performances, that naturally puts us to the back for the reverse grid race. Perfecting my overtaking, as well as my defending, has been top of my list. I would say we’re already up there, and our results have shown that, but any extra work I can put in to make that an even more natural process out on circuit is only a benefit to me.

I’ve also really enjoyed my Rookie Cup battle with my team-mate, Matthew. He’s a very quick driver, especially on race runs, so it’s going to be a difficult task to keep my lead over him. I’m sure it’ll go down to the very last race of the season, but what’s been really nice is the atmosphere between us. We’re not enemies at all, we fight on track but get along well off it, which is a very positive environment to be in.

Being honest, this break has given me a chance to re-evaluate my own expectations. We came into the season just looking to gain experience and keep progressing, but evidently, we’re at a stage now where podium finishes, and that first race victory are closer than we might have thought. I’m working really hard to make that a reality.

The results we’ve achieved so far give me a lot of confidence, which can make all the difference in a championship as close as British F4. It also means I can start to look ahead to the future; I’d like to move up to F3 next season, but that’s not in my control. All I can do right now is keeping putting performances in and see where it ends up.

JHR Developments has been a fantastic place to be over the last few months. We’ve got four drivers in the team capable of winning races every weekend, and we’re very open about our data, racing lines and so on. It’s a team sport, as well as an individual one, and we won’t win the Teams Cup single-handedly, so that transparency goes a long way to creating a very positive team culture in the awning.

Looking ahead to Oulton Park, I think it’s going to be a very interesting weekend. It’s a tough track to overtake on, and to drive in general. There’s very little run-off, it’s grass and then the barriers, so mistakes are heavily punished.

It’s going to be really important to do the best job in qualifying I can, and to try and be on the front row for the races. It’s fun to drive, a real ‘driver’s circuit’, and I think it’ll definitely shake things up a bit. Some will do well, others won’t – I know which group I’m aiming to be in!

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