Darren Manning Q&A

"It all went very well. It was a bit of an unexpected test as I got the call at the last minute, but as always it was great to do it. We did a lot of back to back stuff for next year's car. Doing the back to back stuff wasn't particularly good for lap times, but it was good for the team."



"It could have had something to do with it, looking at it in hindsight, but they just tell me where to be when and I've been drafted up at the last minute many a time. I don't ask questions now, I just get on the plane."



"It's just at a stage now where it's either going to be renewed or not. Obviously we hope that it will be and that's something that is going to be discussed in the near future. Maybe with Sato moving on it will put me in a stronger position. The team has invested in me for the last couple of years, so I'd like to think that I bring something to the package."



"Pretty much. I think that's got to be my main thing really, looking to a race drive in the future. If Justin [Wilson] can't get one, then nobody can really. A test drive is the next best thing really. It's just a step below, you're right on the edge and if you're reserve driver then you never know, you might get the chance at a race drive for one reason or another."



"It's very difficult. You could say that maybe if Justin had had a testing programme alongside him this year, then maybe he would be in a stronger position, or if he could bring some sort of sponsorship to a deal. Who knows... It's a very political game and unfortunately just winning races isn't enough anymore."



"It is frustrating, but you kind of get used to it because you just know that that's the way motorsport works. You know its going to be tough and that there are any number of factors that can help somebody to a drive. For example if you've got sponsorship behind you, or if you've got manufacturers behind you and even nationality. But you just have to take it on the chin, hang in there and hope that one day your time will come."



"I don't think so. At the end of the day it's racing. Maybe they've got to make the series a bit more technical and open things up a bit more, like Formula 3 or like the old Formula 3000 cars used to be [pre-1996]. Which is maybe what they're doing for next year, I don't know I haven't seen the regulation changes. But where can the top Formula 3 drivers go if they can't get a drive? They've got to go up to F3000 and I think maybe it does need opening up a bit with less restrictions and more testing. Sato must have done almost 60 days of testing this year and it does make a difference. In F3000, if your car's not good coming out of the truck, because you're going from race to race you end up being a bit stuffed."



"Yeah, big time. It's a massive series. It's higher than F3000, but maybe not as high as F1 and in terms of continuing my apprenticeship while I wait for an F1 chance, then it's definitely got to be looked at. It's almost like you have a big list of everything that you can do and then, for one reason or another, you cross them off and then make a decision to take the best from what's available to you."



"I think I'd go for a race drive in Champ Cars. Testing is great, but at the end of the day it's not racing. I'd like to be able to link them both together, but obviously that would be difficult. But it's a high category and I'd like to think that if I did well over there, that I'd be able to come back into F1 like [Juan Pablo] Montoya did."



"I don't think I can really, unless I was in Justin's position, where you've won the championship and doing it again would only do you harm."



"Obviously I'd like to be racing in Formula 1, but there's Champ Cars, F3000, IRL and different teams in all of those. So I can't really say. Certain drives with certain teams in one series may be better or worse than a drive with certain teams in another. It's difficult to know until you've got all your cards on the table..."