Though things have progressed nicely for Alex Powell so far this season, the young karting sensation is not entirely pleased with his form at present as he braces for the upcoming FIA Karting World Championships which is highly expected to test his mettle.

Powell made the declaration after his latest podium performance — a third-place finish in the final round of the just-concluded WSK Euro Series in Sarno, Italy.

Despite not being too far behind Frenchman Enzo Deligny and Finland’s Tuukka Taponen — who is also the reigning World Champion — in the final shake-up, the American-born Powell reckons he has much work to do to challenge for a coveted and historic podium spot at the prestigious World Championship scheduled for September 15-18, also in Sarno.

“This weekend was a little bit more challenging than previous ones for many different reasons. For one, we know we have the World Championships at the same track in just over a month and so we had a lot of testing to do.

“We tested a lot of different materials in preparation for the World Championships, so we could have a rough idea of what works and what doesn’t and we stored some data that I know will help us as we look ahead,” Powell told the from his base in Italy.

“Because at the end of the day, everything that we do from here is a part of our build up to the World Championships, so it was kind of a struggle. The first two days were just testing and things really didn’t come together for us until the final where I had to put in a good recovery race to take P3 [third position],” he added.

Powell, 14, believes skipping the first round of the WSK Series in Lonato, after he won two races in the ultra-competitive four-race FIA Karting European Championships, while placing third in another, placed him at a disadvantage where testing is concerned.

“Normally we start a tournament with two chassis and work from there, but this past weekend we tested six, so that tells you that we tried to do a lot. For me at some point, it was a little bit too much, but the positive is that we took a lot from it in terms of what works and what doesn’t,” the Kart Republic representative explained.

“But you know its testing so you have to take it with a pinch of salt because something might work now and then it’s a whole different situation when it comes to the World Championships. You really won’t know how ready or how good things are until the race so we can never be too relaxed and just have to keep pushing,” Powell said.

On that note, the Mercedes-AMG F1 protégé, who blazed the trail in the junior OK division, and has in recent times placed his immense potential on display in the more competitive senior OK category, pointed out that he is eyeing significant improvements to ensure he will be a force to reckon with in the World Championship fight.

“Yes, we have come a long way, and yes, we are happy with the results and happy that we could come away with a podium, but for me there are still a lot of improvements to come because it was hard to say what, if anything really changed this weekend,” Powell noted.

“Yes, our potential showed in the final, which is good, but again, we still have a lot of work to do. So for now, the focus is on a three-day test in Sarno and we will see how that goes in terms of how things are shaping and then we will see how it goes when race time comes,” the young driver ended.