07/12/2007
NEWS STORY
The Honda Young Driver Programme continued in Jerez this week as GP2 drivers Mike Conway, Andi Zuber and Luca Filippi had a further opportunity to work with Honda for their second day in a Formula One car.
The test in Jerez was designed to build on the experience that the three drivers gained at the Barcelona test last month and enable the team to evaluate their development, consistency and speed over a further day of running. The programme focused on longer runs working through various set-up changes on the car and shorter new tyre qualifying simulations.
Mike began the running on Tuesday completing 88 laps over the day, with Andi taking over the car on Wednesday for 109 laps. Luca rounded off the programme on Thursday completing 83 laps.
Mike Conway: "It was great to get back in the car again after a couple of weeks' break from the Barcelona test. I felt that I was able to get
back into the swing of things pretty quickly and learn more about the car and set-up. It was great to work with the Honda engineers and benefit from the experience they have of working with so many drivers. The feedback really helps you to learn and improve. A big thank you to Honda once again for the opportunity and I am pleased with how the test went."
Andi Zuber: "It was nice to be driving a Formula One car again this week and to use the experience from Barcelona to start quickly and become familiar with the car quite early on. We started a little late because of the cool conditions and the number of red flags but once the test was underway, the work continued from Barcelona, especially concentrating on long runs and learning how to adjust the set-up of the car and work with the tyres. I completed a lot of laps which was good experience and overall it was a lot of fun. Thank you to the team for all their support and professionalism, I was able to learn a great deal from working with Honda over the two tests."
Luca Filippi: "I had a very good day in the car and was pleased with what I was able to achieve. Generally I felt a lot more comfortable in the car compared to the Barcelona test. I felt that I was able to find a good pace straightaway and continue to improve throughout the day. It was only a shame that we were not able to take full advantage of the new tyre run at the end of the day due to the number of circuit red flags. I would like to thank Honda for this opportunity, as having two days in an F1 car at the end of my GP2 season is just the best you can get."
Ron Meadows - Sporting Director: "It was a very productive test in Jerez and we were pleased to see Mike, Andi and Luca once again put in impressive performances. There was an obvious improvement in all three drivers, both on the track and in their physical fitness, since their first test at Barcelona in November. All three demonstrated good pace, provided strong feedback to our engineers and generally impressed with their attitude and application. They all have a promising future ahead of them and the next stage for Honda is to evaluate the information we have gathered and gauge where we go from here."