Mitch Gilbert believes improvements on the track are just around the corner after a weekend that couldn’t get going in the GP3 Series.
The Prince Lubricants-sponsored driver was happy with tenth and 11th place finishes at Hungaroring - but was unable to match the speeds needed to be more competitive.
And it left the team and racer acknowledging changes must be made if he is to push on in the championship.
The ADD Motorsports-supported Australian driver, now living in Twickenham, said: “The whole weekend was just what I’d call ‘alright’.
“I drove well, but we just didn’t have the pace to finish any higher. It’s a good thing, because now I’m sure we will make changes to help us improve. If we can just get fast enough to get in the top eight, you have two chances of a podium – especially on the reverse grid. But at the moment we are finishing in the middle – where we deserve to be. We have four weeks until the next race and now hopefully we’ll have a chance to work out what is wrong and work on it to make us more competitive again.”
Mitch was in seventh in practice, but in qualifying although he was fifth on the first set of tyres, couldn’t improve his times and finished 11th. A problem with the clutch at the start of the first race prevented the driver from getting off to a good start.
He stayed in 10th for most of the race but was overtaken with a few laps to go and finished 11th. It was a similar story for the second race, although he got off to a better start. He raced in ninth for the majority of proceedings, but finished in 10th after being overtaken near the end.
He added: “It has been frustrating on weekends like this, there’s just nothing you can do. You are doing everything right, but are just slower than the drivers in front of you. But Carlin were champions last year, so they’ll be wanting to do all they can to put this right. That’s why I’m so confident this can be the turning point of the season. Off the track things are great for me at the moment thanks to the support and help from sponsors like Prince Lubricants. Now we just need things to click on the track as well.”
