Two years ago, after winning the GP3 series in his rookie year, Alex Lynn hit the GP2 field, what was supposed to be just a stopover for him on the clear path towards Formula 1. His first season there appeared to be pretty unsuccessful, what made him to abandon his contract with Red Bull, in order to take the development driver role in Williams F1 Team. Brit’s plan for the second year in GP2 was to win the championship and graduate to the full time job in Grove-based team. However, the reality turned out to be different and made Alex to lose his belief in making it happened. That is why he is looking for some new opportunities now.
Alex, this season must be very touching for you. You had pretty ambitious target to win the championship and indeed you got some great results, two victories and two third places, but you are currently sitting 9th in the standings. What have you learnt this season?
Of course it has been a very frustrating season for me, many things have had been out of control and not being how we had wanted. I think I have learnt how to deal with a lot of adversity this year and just tried to stay strong and trust in the guys I am working with and just keep fighting hard.
A couple of weeks ago you said that you rule out racing in GP2 series for another year. Do you think that it is impossible to learn more here?
No. I think, in the end my career needs to move on. Two years in this championship is enough to do and that is what i have done. I need to move on in my career and go into professional motor racing.
What turned out to be much more difficult in GP2 series than in GP3 series, what you have won in your rookie season?
I think a lot of things are a lot different but it is not the easiest championship obviously as a lot of things are out of your control as a driver. Many different parameters that are never the same weekends on weekends. It is obviously really difficult to aline all of those all the time.
Do you think that you have done absolutely everything out of yourself in the GP2 series or you could have done better?
Definitely I could not work any harder, that is for sure. There is the one thing that I have done over the last 2 years: I have applied everything I could and used every availability I could in this championship.
How much have you benefited from being Williams development driver?
I think it has been a nice experience. I have driven Formula 1 car three times now with them, so in terms of that it has been good for me. It definitely has been a really nice part of my career and one I am really happy about.
Did it have an impact on your performance in GP2 series?
I think just learning a lot from a Formula 1 has had good benefit with the way I work with my team in GP2 and the way I approach things in a professional way.
If you had to point out one factor that you want to improve the most in your driving skills, what would it be?
(20 second break) - It is very complicated. You always want to improve every single factor. I think this season it has been so many things that need to be improved on the car but the most difficult one is to predict where it is coming from. With the car we had this year it wasn't easy to see a single stuff like that. I don’t see any one, particular weakness from my side.
Do you still believe that you can secure a seat in Williams?
(Deep breath) - No. I think it is quite public what is going on in terms of Williams and from my side, I am looking for the other options for my career. One thing is certain: I am really excited with whatever I am going to do in the future.
Do you regret leaving the Red Bull program now?
No, I don't regret that!
Recently you tested the Formula E car with Jaguar. How did you enjoy those days and how can you compare it to the other single seater categories?
It is a really nice series with a lot of professional teams and a lot of professional drivers. I think this championship is going to accelerate quite a lot in the future and I think for the young aspiring driver like me Formula E is a really nice category to look at. Certainly with a lot of manufacturer’s interest it could be a good option.
Do you think that you can do it as a full-time job in the future?
I definitely can’t see any reason why I couldn’t. I think there is lots of championships that are really good for young drivers such as myself where you can be a professional racing driver. There is quite a few things that I am looking forward trying to do.
