Davidson relieved to be in Melbourne

The Japanese squad's future had been in doubt for some time after missing most of this winter's testing sessions.

But a last-moment deal with the Magma Group has secured the future of the team and guaranteed their presence in the season-opening race.

"It feels amazing. It's a massive relief to be here," Davidson told autosport.com in Melbourne.

"You don't normally come racing to make up the numbers but I think for this one we are. I know it sounds a bit negative but truly everyone in the team is just over the moon to be here.

"Things really looked pretty bad for a few weeks before we got here, and so getting on that plane to come out here was just the best feeling. We're here and it's job done. As far as competing is concerned, we definitely aren't now, but that's always been a concern over the winter."

Davidson also concedes he was ready for the worst and was already looking for drives elsewhere.

"I started painting the house with my wife Carrie and just tried to take my mind off it because for me it was all over," Davidson added.

"We couldn't go away anywhere, we couldn't go on holiday, because we had to be at home making back-up plans, I don't want to go into the details of what they were but I had them ready. That's really how serious it all got."

After their difficult winter, Davidson claims the team will be in Melbourne just to make up the numbers before they start making progress later on.

"We are very, very limited on spares so we are going to be limited on mileage therefore," he admitted. "We will be probably be able to get about 25-30 laps in in total tomorrow, so that makes it harder still on us.

"We are just going to enjoy being here and try and do the best we can in the situation that we're in, and it will only get better. That's a given."

Additional reporting by Pablo Elizalde