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GP3 tech boss urges: “Give the new car a chance”

The technical boss of the GP3 Series, Didier Perrin, has urged fans to withhold their judgement on the championship’s new car following a pair of underwhelming first races at Barcelona.

Charles Leclerc, ART Grand Prix, Jake Hughes, DAMS at the start

Charles Leclerc, ART Grand Prix, Jake Hughes, DAMS at the start

GP3 Series Media Service

Alexander Albon, ART Grand Prix leads Oscar Tunjo, Jenzer Motorsport and the rest of the field at the start of the race
Charles Leclerc, ART Grand Prix leads Jake Hughes, DAMS
Alexander Albon, ART Grand Prix leads Oscar Tunjo, Jenzer Motorsport
Jake Hughes, DAMS
Alexander Albon, ART Grand Prix
Santino Ferrucci, DAMS
Alexander Albon, ART Grand Prix leads Oscar Tunjo, Jenzer Motorsport
Santino Ferrucci, DAMS
Jack Aitken, Arden International
Jake Hughes, DAMS
Alexander Albon, ART Grand Prix leads Oscar Tunjo, Jenzer Motorsport

Last month’s season opener marked the debut of the new Dallara GP3/16, which was designed to offer better performance and more entertaining racing than its predecessor.

However, the two races at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya were both dull affairs, neither encounter featuring a single overtaking move inside the top 10 after the second lap.

The series’ decision to use the hard compound tyre in particular was criticised as it led to a distinct lack of tyre degradation, which has been a key ingredient of good racing in past seasons.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, Perrin was confident that next month’s Spielberg races will deliver better action, while admitting to being too conservative choosing the right tyre for Spain.

“It’s a shame that when we introduce a new car, it always races for the first time in Barcelona, which tends to produce boring races,” said Perrin.

“That said, there are boring races and there are really boring races, so we will look at it carefully.

“We will reconsider the type of tyre that we use in coming races. We’ve been a bit too conservative, and we had no tyre degradation [in Barcelona].

“And when there is no tyre degradation, this is the kind of racing you can get [in a one-make series]. We are still confident the car can provide a good show, because we made that a main priority.

“The new car is made to be better than its predecessor in terms of its ability to follow another car in the corners. So I’m confident there is nothing wrong on this side.”

Aero freedom not the way to go

One suggestion put forward to improve the racing by Arden driver Tatiana Calderon was to allow teams more freedom to experiment more with aerodynamic set-ups.

Teams are currently strictly limited to running with a maximum downforce level in the races, with nearly all drivers opting to run close to or on the imposed limit.

But Perrin is adamant that liberalising GP3’s aerodynamic rules would not solve the problem.

“From the beginning, it’s been in our philosophy to limit the downforce in the races, for GP2 and GP3,” said the Frenchman. “All the cars are at the maximum downforce you can use.

"Some say if we didn’t have that rule, it would be better because we would have more difference between cars – but I tell you, that’s bullshit!

“If we made it free, everyone will end up with the same set-up, because there is always one that is best. This ideal set-up will be one with more downforce.

“And the more downforce you have, the less tyre degradation you have, and the easier the car is to drive. So it would be worse for the racing if we did not impose a maximum level of downforce.

“You need something that makes a difference between cars [to promote passing], and I think [the solution] is mainly in the tyres.”

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