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GP2 Features & Interviews
Mike Conway Interview
29/06/2008
The Bridgestone-supported GP2 Series heads to Silverstone for the fifth round of the 2008 season. Drivers will find a high speed abrasive circuit at the home of the British Grand Prix, with a lower speed complex just before the main straight. British driver Mike Conway has a good history here and is looking forward to racing in front of his home crowds for the Trident Racing team.
Q. How are you enjoying your second full season in the GP2 Series?
A. It’s good, I was happy when I came to Trident. We all get on really well and they are really motivated, and always pushing to get the best result possible. They also make sure they get the best out of the drivers at the same time, which is good. We knew the second year would be better for results - they just seem to come easier in your second year. You learn a lot from the year before, what you should do and what you’re not doing. It’s been quite difficult to begin with but we have finished and scored points, which is a lot more than the start of last year. I had my first win in Monaco so we just have to keep it up and make sure we’re doing it every weekend.
Q. As a current young driver for the Honda F1 Racing Team, how well do you think GP2 prepared you for this step up to Formula One?
A. It does prepare you really well because you have such little time in GP2 to test. On a race weekend you only get 30 minutes practice and then the same for qualifying. This means you have to really maximise your time in the car and be focused on how you’re going to get the car quicker. So it can only help going into F1, when you have a lot more time to practice, because you can be on it a lot faster.
Q. What are your thoughts on Silverstone as a track?
A. I like it because it’s really fast. The first sector is really quick, the first corner’s fast, along with Maggots and Becketts. Down the back straight into Stowe is really rapid too, and it’s just a really flowing circuit, similar to Spa. I have raced at Silverstone lots of times, it’s a track I like and seem to be quite fast at, so I’m looking forward to going there again and hopefully we will have another good weekend there.
Q. What are the secrets to a fast lap and also to a race winning performance?
A. Because it’s fast you’ve really got to be keeping up the minimum speeds through there and you’ve got the slow sections as well, especially the last complex which is quite technical. It’s quite a challenge and it’s not easy to get the car set up right either because you need the car to be good through the high speed sections and also through the slow speed corners. It’s quite a challenge.
Q. What’s the key to good tyre management at Silverstone?
A. We ran the hard compound there last year which was quite easy for us. This year there is a change to medium, which could be a bit more difficult and strategy will come into it a bit more, but it will only be better and I think it will be faster.
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