As the only man to compete on the Circuit of Americas in both the World Endurance Championship and Formula 1 Mark Webber took some time out on the weekend to share his thoughts on the two categories.
Downforce
LMP1’s just a bit heavier … I need to be a little bit more patient with the car, [the] F1 car’s obviously a very light and nimble [car], downforce is the biggest difference.
More downforce on the F1 car, obviously that makes it probably more precise, a lot more load on the driver, but yeah, it’s just that downforce is a big factor on a track like this but then also power wise, we have probably more power with the Porsche.
Tyres
There’s no contest there, Michelin is a real racing tyre, Pirelli was for show business in Formula 1. These are real racing tyres so it’s a tyre which all the drivers can enjoy, which was backed up when Andre Lotterer raced [for Caterham] in Spa and he was very surprised at how the grip level was very very low on Pirelli and the Michelin tyre gives a lot of grip for a long time.
Which is best, LMP1 or F1?
They’re just different categories, I think the F1 car as a driver you want to go quick as possible, so that was the ultimate machine. I never got to drive an F1 car here when F1 was at its peak, obviously it dropped off in the last few years in terms of pace because of the regulation but when it was at it’s peak in the mid 2000s it would be a really good track.
[Source: motorsport.com]