Cars trickier to drive, says Premat

Along with a reduction in the rear wing elements from three to two, the F1 feeder series has switched from grooved to slick tyres this season.

Premat reckons that these changes actually make the car harder to drive, particularly on the first laps out of the pits.

"We have less downforce, which particularly in the fast corners makes the car more difficult to run," Premat told autosport.com. "So when we brake later there is more oversteer, and in the hairpin then there is more understeer.

"I think the tyres are really bad for the first lap because of the silicone coating. We slide a lot on that lap so we take a lot of risks with it.

"But after that the tyre is good, because we then have two or three laps with the same [lap] times. It is very consistent and not like the grooved tyres, which could only do one lap.

"It will not be easy with the changes, and it is more difficult to drive the car, but it is a good set-up. We will see at Valencia this weekend."