Perrin talks about the GP2/11 car first shake down

Didier, the very first shake down of the GP2/11 car took place in Magny-Cours earlier this week. How did it go?

Didier Perrin: Very well. However, you must keep in mind that this was just a shake down. The purpose of these two days was to check that the gearbox was working, that the car was turning in the same direction as the steering wheel, etc… Having said that, we were very happy because everything worked perfectly. The car is ready now for the next important step: development.

Talking about the new design, it is very much different than the previous car. What was your main target?

Didier Perrin: The target was to design a car as close as possible as an F1 car, not only in terms of looks, but also in terms of behaviour. The aerodynamic is based on what is done today in F1. So everything started from that point and as a consequence, we had to design a smaller rear wing. And since we lost a lot of rear wing down force, we had to put the exhaust on top of the gearbox in order to make a bigger diffuser and regain what we lost with a smaller rear wing. The other important modification is the front wing package which now is similar to what you can see in F1: it is very wide. Obviously, this will have a big impact on the way the teams will have to set up their car.

What do you expect in terms of performance?

Didier Perrin: Our goal is not to find the ultimate performance of the car. However, this new machine will be slightly faster than the previous one, this much is true. As usual, we will work on two very key points which first is overtaking opportunities. We want to keep providing a good show which is one of our trademarks now. The second key point is the handling of the car. The GP2/11 must remain very difficult to drive: the drivers’ skills are better displayed that way.

What can the drivers expect then?

Didier Perrin: They can expect to be fully prepared for Formula One!