Monza – 03/09/16
FormulaRapida.net met Jack Aitken at Monza during the seventh event of GP3 Series of 2016. This interview was realised on Saturday between qualifying session and the race.
Q : How do you feel ahead of the first race of the week-end?
JA: I am feeling pretty good. We had a strong week-end at Spa so we’re expecting quite a strong pace again.
Q: What do you think about this mythical track that is Monza? Is it one track you like?
JA: I don’t have great memories. I have been here a couple of times before and I have never quite got a good result, I even had a big crash here but it is a great place and I do like it a lot.
Q: You claimed both the Eurocup and the ALPS championship last year with Koiranen GP, why did you choose to run with Arden International for your first GP3 Series campaign?
JA: Koiranen and I have done a really good job last year, they never really put a foot wrong but it’s always nice to do something different, I was really impressed by Arden last year. We have a good relationship, I thought it would be a good move to make. It’s nothing really against the Koiranen guys it’s just how it worked out.
Q: You had quite a rough start of the season, did you expect it to be so after winter testing?
JA: Not really, we had a good pace in winter testing. A few things just went against us, in qualifying sessions in particular, things like traffic or badly timed red flags costed us some places but this is just bad luck. But since the last few races our pace has been strong and closer to where we should be anyway. We are picking up points every time we can and we would like the finish the year like that.
Q : You claimed your first win of the season last week at Spa-Francorchamps and you will start third of the race later on, do you think you can be a recurrent front-runner now?
JA: Yes, that is where we should be. We were expecting good things to come this week-end. Qualifying went as planned and we have the new tyres for the race so we should be in a very good position to beat the ART guys. We are looking forward to Malaysia and Abu Dhabi even if Malaysia could be a bit more difficult because we are on a harder compound but we still have a good pace so we should be regular front runners.
Q: Your team seems to have found the key of tyre degradation, do you think it can help you to beat ART GP or Trident?
JA: I think we are a team who manages the tyres really well and we have been educated quite a lot on how to manage the tyres, this is something that had to be learnt. In the first few rounds we were not quicker than ART but it’s during the last few races when the temperatures went up that we managed to be a bit better. We are going to make sure when we will arrive in Malaysia with a harder compound to keep a good pace.
Q: Is it difficult to be in a team with only three cars and only rookies in the team?
JA: It is a bit of a disadvantage but it has its positives as well, you have three really good drivers and we all go on well together so this is lucky. We all work together to get through a lot of stuff. Obviously when you are against ART which have four good drivers and a lot of data as well they have quite of a big advantage. It is not a big problem, we work well together and we can focus on every driver.
Q: You are now a part of the brand new Renault Sport Academy alongside Kevin Jörg also in GP3, how does this partnership helps you in your career?
JA: The Renault Sport Academy is pretty important. To get to F1 you need a lot of money and a lot of talent and a bit of both. What the Renault Academy does is that they recognize this talent and associate it with money. It is very helpful, they develop you on a physical side. They make you feel as a part of F1.
Q: If you were to stay in GP3 Series for next year, do you see yourself as a title contender?
JA: If I did stay, yes. I would be expecting to claim the title. Things are always a bit difficult in GP3 in a sense that it’s quite unpredictable because of the nature of the tyres, you also only have one qualifying session as well so just one mistake can ruin your whole week-end but we would expect to be at the front.
Q: What do you think about the format of GP3 Series, not allowing a lot of track time to drivers compared to other series such as Formula 3 or Formula Renault?
JA: It is a bit of a shame, that is the price we pay for being a F1 support series but in return you have a great field of drivers. You always have positives and negatives, track time is a negatives but there are a lot of positives.
Q: What can we wish you for the future?
JA: Just to continue as we are, if we continue as we are we must finish very strong at the end of the year.
