Reddy: "Ideally, I want to be in GP3 next year"
Tarun Reddy says he wants to compete in the GP3 championship in 2017 after having driven the car in the post-season Abu Dhabi three-day test.
Tarun Reddy, DAMS
GP3 Series Media Service
The Indian drove Finnish squad Koiranen GP's car on Day 1 and 3 and spent the day in-between testing with French team DAMS.
In the three days of testing, Reddy clocked his best time of 1m56.812s on the final day and with GP3 one of his options, the Chennai-born driver hopes to race in the series in 2017.
"Ideally, I'd like to race in GP3, but [as we know] its an expensive step up, so we have to wait and see how the winter pans out," he told Motorsport.com, adding the decision is likely to made by February.
Should Reddy compete in GP3, the former Sahara Force India academy driver says Koiranen and DAMS are among the teams he would choose from for his rookie season.
"I was quite surprised how two teams can operate so differently and still be competitive," he said.
"Over the three days between the two teams, I took in a lot of information and improved a fair bit which was the goal of the test.
"I don't really know my plans for 2017 yet, but one of the two teams I tested with are among the candidates for next year, if I was to race GP3."
When asked on the step up he took having driven the British Formula 3 cars in 2016, the Indian needed time to figure out the tyres and the brakes in GP3.
"The Pirelli tyres used in GP3 are completely different [to British F3], so it took me sometime to get my head around it.
"They really punish you if you don't hook your lap up on your first or second go on the new set as the drop off is massive," he explained.
"Another thing were the brakes, which are completely different as well. You have to hit them quite hard for the car stop, which is about right, really."
Outside GP3, the Indian has done private testing with 2016 Euroformula Open runner-up squad Drivex School, which was founded by former Formula 1 driver Pedro de la Rosa.
"I got comfortable straightaway in the F3 car," he said, when asked on his EF Open testing. "There's so much grip and so much power.
"It gives you a lot of confidence as a driver and you can really carry some speed through the corners."
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