Last year, New Zealander Mitch Evans won the GP3 Series title and with it a 200,000 Euro scholarship from Pirelli to support a GP2 campaign. We caught up with him to find out how he was making the transition, and how the GP2 tyres compare with GP3.
How different are the GP2 tyres to the GP3 tyres?
ME: “There’s obviously more performance to be had out of the GP2 tyres but the essential characteristics are actually very similar. I can see completely how you progress from GP3 to GP2 to Formula One with the same fundamental qualities in the tyre, so it’s a very good training ground.”
How do you get the best out of the tyres?
ME: “It varies a bit from track to track but Barcelona is obviously well-known for being aggressive on tyres so you have to treat them carefully. That means making sure you’re not too aggressive on your out-lap so that they warm up properly and being as gentle with the car as you can: that tends to be the quickest way anyway.”
There’s more strategy involved in GP2 than GP3: how are you finding that aspect?
ME: “It’s really interesting and educational: we spend hours talking about it and going through the different permutations! In the end I think a lot of it just comes down to experience and what your feeling is, although we do run a lot of simulations to see what the theoretically quickest way is. That doesn’t always match up to the reality though as there are so many variables.”
From a tyre perspective, how much does GP3 prepare you for GP2?
ME: “It was always good preparation before but it’s even better now with the new car, which has really brought the performance of the car much closer to GP2. That obviously reflects on the tyres as well. Knowing the circuits helps, but the biggest jump is that you have to factor in the strategy for GP2: it opens up a whole new set of possibilities.”
Do you have to manage the tyres differently in GP2 to GP3?
ME: “Yes, it’s a bit different. You can push harder in the GP2 feature race as you have the pit stops so you can afford to take more performance out of the tyres. In GP3, it’s more about managing one set of tyres over a race distance, a bit like the GP2 sprint race, so sometimes you’re not going quite as hard.”
