Dario Franchitti Q&A

The test has been arranged with a little help from former mentor and Jaguar Director Jackie Stewart and the circumstances could potentially be falling into place for a switch to F1 for the Scot. Autosport.com caught up with the 27-year-old on day two of the Silverstone test.



The braking's a bit different obviously coming from the steel discs to the carbon fibre, I'm left foot braking sometimes, but it's actually very difficult to draw comparisons between Champ Cars and Formula 1. I mean they've both got four wheels but that's where the similarity ends. I'm just trying to get acclimatised to the whole thing.



They're good, they stop the car pretty quickly...That's one of the main differences actually. We use carbon discs on the super-speedways in America and they stop the car pretty quickly but the difference is you've got no downforce. There's a lot less grip in the slow corners with the grooved tyres but an F1 car is just a very different animal to a Champ Car.



You can never say one car's better or worse than another, whatever you're driving. If you can get the technique right then you go fast.



Yeah, he's been out there this morning watching and he came and said to me 'you're doing this in the last corner' and it was exactly what we had just been talking about from the telemetry. What he had seen from the outside was exactly what had been happening - he's definitely lost none of his touch.



I don't know. You can draw whatever conclusions you want. I asked Jackie if I could come and test the car some time and he said yes. If things go well with the test then there's a possibility I could drive for the team. It was nice to do the test and it's been a good opportunity but I've got a CART race this weekend and I've got to concentrate on that. Right now that's my priority.



No not at all. I mean I've always said I want to do F1 given the right circumstances, but I enjoy driving Champ Cars, I like the atmosphere and I'm with a good team.



It's just really about getting everybody organised. It's a very complicated thing to drive a car for a different team, with a different engine manufacturer and different sponsors in the middle of a season and I think it says a lot for Team Green and Honda that they've let me come here and do this.



You always worry about not doing well. The thing with Alex really puzzles me because I know he's a great driver, but sometimes it just doesn't work and it's the strangest thing. I don't' really know the ins and outs of the whole thing with Alex, but in the end you just have to come over and draw your own conclusions. You have to get used to the car and work out how to drive it quickly.



I'm working on it, I'm working on it. I'm slowly getting used to the car but the objective is not getting a lap time. The whole thing is just a massive learning experience. I'm trying to learn as much as possible. I mean I'm not taking a corner the same way every time. For instance somebody like David (Coulthard) will take the same corner the same way every time because he knows it works, whereas I'm trying lots of different things. I've learnt a lot and I'm sure a lot of the things I've learnt in the past couple of days will help me in Champ Cars.



Jaguar's got great potential with great resources and great people. It all points to the fact that the team's going to get better. Having been involved with a winning outfit in the US you get the feeling that that's where Jaguar are heading.



Lots. I've talked to lots. I mean I've got a lot of friends in Formula 1 and I talk to a lot of them but maybe not in the capacity that you're thinking of.



I've obviously signed a contract to come testing with them...(laughs), but beyond that who knows?



Silence



Funny that...