( CNN ) -- Amid the whine of F3 engines and the clatter of pneumatic tools , 21-year-old Sun Zheng -- one of mainland China 's small but growing pack of motor racing drivers -- considers his form for the next day 's racing at the Macau Grand Prix . `` My time was n't very good and there were three corners we kept missing , '' he tells CNN from the relative calm of the Galaxy Double R Racing Team 's catering tent . `` If I solve those three corners , I 'll be two seconds off the pace . '' As the first F3 racer from mainland China to enter the Macau fixture - roundly regarded as the sport 's toughest training ground for Formula One drivers -- Zheng has a lot resting on his young shoulders . `` Of course , all F3 drivers want to be F1 drivers and Macau is like doing college , '' he says , adding that his ambition is to become China 's first F1 driver at a Federation Internationale de l'Automobile ( FIA ) -sanctioned event . `` Most older drivers have done three or four years and then they graduate to F1 . I hope I 'll be first . I have driven in Formula Ones and nothing can compare with it -- it 's in a different category , '' he says . As the reigning China Formula Grand Prix series champion , fourth place-getter in the final 2012 Audi R8 LMS Cup and this year 's national champion in the British F3 , Zheng has already shown the kind of form that could take him to the pinnacle of motor racing . At the moment , however , he needs all his concentration for Macau which he says is one of the most challenging circuits in the world . Even at the tender age of 21 , he says the rigors of the track leave him exhausted at the end of the day 's racing . `` Physically I 'm okay but mentally I 'm very tired because you 're not just driving the car - it 's not like qualifying or practice -- when you race you have to try to overtake , you have to try to defend , you need to think about a lot of things in a very short space of time . `` When you take risks , it 's not like you can just do that blindly , '' he says . `` You have to think , 'Okay well ... I have a 60-70 % chance I 'm going to go for it . ' '' As a street circuit , the concrete canyons of Macau 's Guia Circuit can throw up some chilling moments , even for experienced drivers who take some corners at upwards of 240 kph ( 150 mph ) on each lap . `` You have to really push every corner and every lap during the race because the older drivers , the pace that they keep up is incredible , '' Zheng says . `` They are preparing for Formula One races so they ca n't make mistakes -- they 're not just fast on one lap , they 're fast on every corner and every lap . `` I have done endurance races where you have a lot of time to take a rest ; you 're not competing with the car next to you . But in F3 , once you start , it 's a fight to the end . `` When I start , I take a breath when the right light goes off and I push and push until the checkered flag comes down and then I let that breath out -- it really does feel like that . '' With 15 laps at around two minutes a lap , 30 minutes might seem like a long time to hold your breath but , as Zheng explains , Macau is that kind of circuit . `` On other tracks , there 's a white line on both sides of the circuit -- if you take a short cut and your four wheels go over the white line , then that 's a penalty , '' he says . `` But in Macau , the white line is a wall -- not even two wheels can go over ; it 's really difficult . '' Double R Racing team manager Anthony Hieatt says his team has had some hair-raising moments at the Macau Grand Prix in the past . `` Crashes ? Oh God yeah . Massive crashes . Huge ones , '' says Hieatt amid the drone of the F3 garage . `` This is the toughest circuit in the world bar none -- it 's probably one of the longest circuits with 23 or 24 corners and parts of it are like putting cotton through a needle . The good drivers , he says , will always stand out . `` Good experienced drivers are always up the front and new drivers are always at the back . New drivers need experience so they come back two or three times but if you do succeed at Macau , then all the Formula One people are watching -- it 's a calling card for your career . '' His team currently holds the record for the highest speed ever attained at Macau at 182 mph ( 292 kph ) which through the narrow historic streets of the former Portuguese colony is about as fast as it gets . `` To put it in perspective , they do n't reach those sorts of speeds at Monaco , '' says Hieatt , adding that intense concentration is fundamental to every driver 's survival at Macau . `` As soon as the driver feels they 're safe , they 're in the morgue , '' he says . While advances in the carbon fiber monocoque design have made the racers safer than they were 20 , and even 10 years ago ( F3 racers now fitted with thick panels that protect drivers from intrusions into the cockpit ) , the last thing a driver wants is 'to go in ' , says Hieatt using the pit vernacular for having a crash . `` It 's still a dangerous sport and it still hurts when you go in , but the cars are among the safest in the world . '' For Hieatt , F3 -- as the poor man 's Formula One -- represents the real , gritty spirit of motor racing in its purest form . `` Here we 're dealing with raw talent , '' he says . `` The F1 drivers always remember F3 because there 's this fantastic bonding that goes on because they work with a small team . `` In Formula One , the mechanics would n't even speak with the drivers , but here they eat , drink and sleep with the team . It 's really the university of racing . ''
Sun Zheng is the first F3 racer from mainland China to enter the Macau Grand Prix . The Chinese driver will be joined by his teammate and fellow countryman Guan Yu Zhou in a Ferrari 488 GTE for Scuderia Toro Rosso. Macau Grand Prix regarded as one of the toughest training grounds for future F1 drivers . The Galaxy Double R Racing Team holds the Macau speed record of 182 mph ( 292 kmh )