Josh Webster Q&A

After several seasons in the Formula Renault BARC Championship with both Fortec Motorsports and MGR Motorsport, rising British sensation Josh Webster is preparing to make his debut in the GP3 Series around the Circuit de Catalunya. The 19-year-old enters the Series with Irish outfit Status Grand Prix, alongside Jimmy Eriksson and Adderly Fong.

During his career in the Formula Renault BARC Championship, Josh Webster recorded eight victories and 22 podiums across some of Britain’s best venues such as Snetterton, Thruxton and Donington. Last season the Briton competed in the Formula 3 Masters event at Zandvoort in Holland for T-Sport, eventually finishing 16th in a field consisting of many rising stars including Daniel Juncadella, William Buller and Conor Daly. Towards the end of last season, Josh Webster tested for Carlin in the post-season GP3 test sessions.

During the winter break, Josh Webster continued to test for the GP3 Series, this time with Status Grand Prix. A member of the BRDC Rising Stars and MSA UK Elite Drivers, Josh Webster is without a doubt a future talent who will be aiming to thrive in this year’s GP3 Series season with Status Grand Prix. With the Briton’s debut imminent, I caught up with him to discuss his debut season in the category and his career so far.

Q: First of all Josh, many thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. You enjoyed an extremely competitive season in the Formula Renault BARC Championship last year with MGR Motorsport which saw you take five victories. What was your personal highlight of the year?

Josh Webster: I had two personal highlights of 2012, one at the start of the year and one at the end. In January I was selected to become a member of MSA Team UK which is the top tier of the MSA Academy structure. There were six race drivers selected, plus rally drivers and co-drivers. We have coaching and mentoring from experts and senior race drivers and have specialist fitness training and team events. I am very proud to be part of the team for my second year in 2013. The second highlight of the year was to be named as one of the six finalists for the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

I had always hoped to be selected as a finalist but when I got the call from Kevin Turner of AUTOSPORT I was absolutely overjoyed and he said he’d never heard anyone so happy! The assessment gave us the chance to drive some amazing cars and the final interview was held at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking which I had always hoped to visit. It was a great experience.

Q: The 2013 GP3 Series already looks incredibly competitive, with a fine balance of returning and new drivers on the grid. What are your ambitions heading into the new season?

JW: I realise that I am one of the least experienced drivers in GP3 this year and I am making a very big step up from Formula Renault BARC to the new 2013 spec 400hp car. I know that I have a tremendous amount to learn so I have realistic expectations and just hope to learn as quickly as possible. I also need to learn the circuits which I haven’t driven before. There are about 12 drivers returning to the Series who will be very competitive, but there are also some drivers coming into the series from Formula Renault 3.5 and Formula 3 who have driven the circuits before and have experience of higher powered cars so they will also be contenders. All I can say about my ambitions is that I will be working really hard to get the maximum out of the team, the car and most of all myself, aiming to get solid foundations in place for 2014.

Q: This year in GP3 will see you visit many legendary venues including Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. Which circuit are you most looking forward to competing on this season in the GP3 Series?

JW: I am really looking forward to my home race at Silverstone – it will be great to race in front of the Silverstone fans. I have watched from the grandstands at Silverstone since I was very young and always dreamed of driving there at the Grand Prix event. I haven’t driven at Spa, but I am really looking forward to it. Everyone says it is an amazing circuit, so I am really looking forward to going there for the first time in August.

Q: Towards the end of last year, you competed in the post-season GP3 tests with Carlin in the old GP3/10 machine before testing with Status Grand Prix earlier this year in the new GP3/13 machine. Despite your limited time in the old car, how different is the new car to drive?

Josh Webster tested throughout the winter period for both Carlin and Status Grand Prix.

JW: The car is very different. The new car has a lot more power and downforce and the power delivery is different as the old car had a turbo and the new car is a normally aspirated engine. The car is very quick in a straight line and the brakes are bigger and better than the previous car. The tyre compounds are different for 2013 and the car is good to drive on new tyres but very challenging when the tyres have dropped off their peak performance. The new tyres are designed to be similar to those used in GP2 and getting used to the tyres and how to manage them is probably the biggest challenge.

Q: Like many British drivers on the GP3 grid for the new season, you are a member of the BRDC Rising Stars. For those who have yet to hear of this, could you please explain what this means?

JW: The British Racing Drivers’ Club, based at Silverstone, has 35 Rising Stars and I am very proud to be one of them. I was invited to a meeting at the Club in September 2011 and was invited to join the BRDC as a Rising Star at that time. It is a great honour.

Rising Stars [age 24 and under] are in effect the junior members of the Club, selected by the BRDC [scouted from trackside] based on their racing potential. The aim is to become  a full member in the future.

As a Rising Star I am able to use the wonderful facilities of the BRDC Clubhouse at events throughout the year which is very useful for me to entertain sponsors. The BRDC also host events for the Rising Stars on useful educational topics and often with well known motor racing personalities. I am very proud to have the BRDC roundel on my car and my race suit and very grateful to the Club for their support.

Q: Although both you and your team-mates of Jimmy Eriksson and Adderley Fong are rookies in the GP3 Series, do you feel the team has the ability to fight for points or even podium finishes this year?

JW: Well it has to be admitted that with all rookie drivers in the team we will be at a disadvantage compared to the teams who have experienced drivers. Added to this we have an all new engineering team at Status which of course will put us at an even bigger disadvantage.

It’s hard to say if we have a chance to fight for points or podiums this year until we get started and see where we are in relation to the more experienced teams but we’ll all be working flat-out to catch up as quickly as possible.

Many thanks to Pam & Josh Webster for the communication and time taken to complete this interview.

Picture(s) Copyright © Malcolm Griffiths/GP3 Series Media Service