Spike Goddard completed 89 laps in his first day out in a Formula 1 car. Driving the Force India VJM07, Goddard said he took some time to adjust to extra demands compared with the F3 cars he’s used to driving.
“I felt today went really well,” the 22-year-old Australian said. ” The VJM07 is a massive step up from my Formula 3 car so the first part of the day was devoted to adjusting to the new machinery. The power and downforce of these cars is something on a completely different level; it was a massive shock to the system, but I got used to it fairly soon.
“We chipped away at the lap time in every run and in the end we got to a pretty good time and 89 laps, which is a fair bit of running. I am pretty happy about the work I did with the team and the way everyone worked with me.
“I’d love to keep a link with Sahara Force India: it’s a fantastic group of people and I’d like to contribute and help as much as I can.”
Goddard’s fastest lap was 1:44.944, the sixth best of the day. In contrast, Daniel Ricciardo posted the seventh best time (1:45.151). On the previous day of testing Jolyon Palmer completed 37 laps for Force India. His best time was 1:44.516, the fourth quickest on the opening day.
“Spike did a good job and really made the most of his first opportunity in a Formula 1 car,” said Tom McCullough, Chief Engineer. “It’s always a big jump from Formula 3 to Formula 1, but he adapted quickly and gradually built up his confidence and speed throughout the test.”
Goddard also spent part of his day testing a new style “info wing”, which has been developed by Anthony Hamilton, father of Lewis. The wing features LED lighting able to display the driver’s number, tyre compound and position in the race.
