“We could see in Q1 at Magny-Cours that there were basically some eight or nine cars within one tenth – it doesn't take much to be left in Q1, but it doesn't take much to get out of it either. You consistently need to improve to stay in that group or even get a little bit of an edge.
“Now obviously it's a bit of a different game [compared to at the start of the season]; everybody is more prepped-up and focussed and not making so many mistakes. The races are more straightforward now, but hopefully we can just turn the wheel around a little bit and have better results with the STR3. It's definitely a quicker car, and the gap to the other cars is much smaller now.
“I think the car is actually full of potential; the biggest issue we have right now is that we don't know it well enough to be able to fix the problems we have in terms of balance. Obviously now we're more into a schedule of testing-racing-testing-racing, and hopefully test after test we can find something to help me get a bit more satisfied with it and to get the car to suit me a bit better.
“I'm not a dreamer, so I'm not going to say ‘we're going to do this, we're going to do that'. To be honest, I'd just like to be able to get the car to where I want it to be, and then hopefully we'll be able to judge its true potential.”
As to his future, the man from Le Mans was forthright, adamant that he has performed to the best of his abilities since making the
F1 leap, even if the score sheet does not necessarily show it. The destiny of
STR is up in the air, with
Red Bull energy drinks magnate Dietrich Mateschitz having signalled his intention to sell his 50 per cent share, and suggestions that current British F3 and World Series by
Renault challengers Ultimate Motorsport are involved in a planned takeover bid [see separate story –
click here].
