It was a funny story because the owner of the car – who isn’t a very competitive racing driver – wanted his car to race, and they contacted me to see if I was available to do it. I really loved the idea of doing a
Ferrari race. I thought it would be good fun and good experience – every race for me means gaining more experience, and obviously driving at
Silverstone close to the GP2 round at the track wasn’t going to do me any harm either.
The F430 is completely different to my GP2 car – the driving styles are different; the G-forces are different. Even though the Ferrari is a fast car on the straights – it has 500bhp – everything still seemed to be happening in slow motion. You can take your time more and the car gives you very good feedback, and I think that helps explain why I was so successful over the weekend.
From the very first time I drove the car I was fast, and I just wanted to do the best job I could. The rolling starts were actually very easy. I was expecting them to be tougher, but it wasn’t too difficult to trick the other guys into falling behind you because it’s very similar to taking a re-start from behind a safety car. The only difference is everybody is side-by-side in a rolling start, but you simply need to make sure they are all on the brakes when you are getting onto the throttle, especially the guy next to you. You just need to have a good strategy and then put it into practice.
Last time I drove around Silverstone’s Grand Prix Circuit was in September last year, so it was good experience to race there again ahead of the GP2 round. I had a very different view of the track from behind the wheel of the Ferrari – the viewpoint from the driving seat is different, so you can learn a few more things about the track. The way the Ferrari moved around was good too because it allowed me to learn more about the balance and how the car behaved on the circuit.
