Jonathan Cochet Q&A

"The car is very different from Formula 3. There is a lot of power. For me the brakes were not so impressive. A lot of drivers told me that the brakes were the most impressive thing, but in fact it was very difficult because I didn't want to push too hard on the pedal. Jean [Alesi] told me before I went out that it was very important not to lock the brakes because the vibration from the flat spot on the tyre makes the car impossible to drive. So at the beginning of the first session, I was being really careful, but in fact that wasn't the right way to go and it turned out I wasn't attacking the pedal enough. In the next run I tried braking with the left foot, and it was much better."



"I haven't done it since karting, but that was a long time ago. I wanted to try with the left foot and after just a couple of runs it felt much better. You can be much quicker with the left foot because when you use the right one you have to move it all the way across, so it is slower."



"It is a relief. This is a really good opportunity for me. I tried to get into Formula 3000 with Super Nova, but we couldn't get the budget together which was a bit of a surprise. I couldn't believe I was having difficulty raising money after winning the [F3] championship last year and also some International races. I really thought it would make it easier to get into F3000, but it didn't seem to make any difference. But I am pleased to be here and also happy because Alain [Prost] decided to take me on after seeing my resume and he had the confidence in me to do a good job. I'm sure I can do a good job, but it is important that I am quick and that I give good information about the car."



"I don't know. I hope so! I am happy with this situation at the moment, but it is definitely not my final destination. I see this as a step to help me up to the next level, and I will have to work hard. My goal is to drive in Formula 1, not test."



"No not really, because it depends on so many things. If I do a good job, then maybe it is possible, but I don't know at the moment. What I do know is that there is a lot of hard work for me to do. I know my situation and the team knows its situation. My situation is that I am test driver for 2001. After that, I don't know."



"It was last year in the middle of December, so for me it was a long wait. We had talks on and off for the last three months and then about three weeks ago everything accelerated and it looked like everything was going to go well for me. I don't know why it took so long. There were a lot of things to sort out and it was not so simple at the beginning of the year with Pedro de la Rosa and everything."



"It was hard to choose a category to race in. It was very important for me to stay in single-seaters. I had propositions to do Porsche Supercup and Super Touring. It is difficult to change categories and fast corners in single-seaters are very quick, but with touring cars it just not the same. Also after last year I did not want to take a step back. Formula Nissan is quicker than F3 and on some circuits it is similar to F3000. The cars have a lot of downforce in the fast corners. It will be my first race this weekend and I have not yet driven the car. The first time will be in practice so it is going to be hard."



"Driving with Super Nova was for me a good possibility, because they are the best team. I had some good tests with them and I think they were happy with me. But it didn't happen. Driving in Formula Nissan is better in many ways because in F3000 there is very little you can change in the set-up and the testing is very limited. If you are not in one of the top three teams it is difficult to go well and if you are not near the front you can be quickly forgotten. And now I am in Formula 1, which hopefully can only be a good thing. I am also driving at Le Mans with ORECA, so with Formula Nissan and Formula 1 testing, it is a good season for me I think."



"The feeling is absolutely fantastic. In the slower corners it is similar to an F3 car, but it's incredible in the fast corners because you have so much grip. I have to improve and I have to get quicker, but we had a few problems with the clutch and also the gear selection so I didn't complete a full flying lap. I'm not too worried about the lap times. We will see..."