With Gene's role within the Scuderia being cut back following the restriction on using test drivers during the season, the Spaniard is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of Peugeot's sports prototype - even if
Ferrari commitments still mean that he is unavailable for the entire Le Mans Series campaign.
"I cannot drive that much for Ferrari [after the
FIA changed the rules on testing], so my work is limited to aerodynamic tests and working in the 'flight simulator'," he revealed, "I'm lucky that, with the new regulations, my work has been reduced, as many teams that are reducing personnel. Although there are teams, like
McLaren, that trust blindly in the results of the simulator, we prefer to have as much data as possible from different sources.
"The team has asked me to go to all the races this year and, because of that, I am going to miss three rounds of the LMS, and that is disappointing because the Barcelona round coincides with Bahrain.
"However, I am looking forward to getting back in the Peugeot, and we hope to be able to compete with the car that gave us the pole at Le Mans last season. We need to find greater reliability with the engine and race with the same pace as in qualifying."
