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Davison relishes Grand Prix double-duty

26 Mar 2018
Long days for Davison with Formula 1 two-seater rides
3 mins by James Pavey
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Will Davison says he was “excited like a kid” waking up each day getting to drive the Formula 1 two-seater at Albert Park, alongside his 23Red Racing Supercars duties.

Davison was part of the Minardi-run program, driving the V10 F1 car in demonstration and passenger ride sessions from Wednesday through to Sunday.

That accompanied racing his Supercar for points for the first time in the Australian Grand Prix weekend, Davison winding up 15th in the Larry Perkins Trophy results with a pair of top 10s.

“This is a championship round, so this has been a bit different to last year, it has been the priority,” Davison told Supercars.com.

“I love racing these things and it’s very important, but I genuinely get excited like a kid to come and jump in [the two-seater] and drive the thing.

“There’s no pressure, nothing, it’s just go and have some fun.

“It’s doing a job for them, it’s a pretty big responsibility, to be honest, but it’s a good buzz.”

With the two-seater rides on mornings - other than Friday - and Supercars having twilight races on Friday and Saturday, that gave Davison some early starts and late finishes.

Still run by former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart, F1’s new owner Liberty Media has taken a closer interest in the program in the last year, and now takes it to other grands prix.

“It’s been long days for me, 15-hour days,” Davison added.

“I rolled out of here at 10pm [on Friday and Saturday] nights, then rolled in back here at 6:30am.

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“It’s been a long weekend. I’ve probably done 40 or 50 laps in the F1 car all up.

“I really enjoyed it, it’s run really well now, it’s really professional down there.

“It’s good to still be part of that crew, I’ve formed a good relationship with those guys now, it’s something I can look forward to doing more.”

Davison’s best race result at Albert Park of eighth came on Saturday evening, and he lined up in that position for Sunday’s finale but crossed the line 10th.

A Safety Car limited racing, while Davison also lost ground on the first lap after a skirmish with Michael Caruso.

The clash was reviewed by the Deputy Race Director, but ultimately not referred to the stewards.

“I was really looking forward to [Sunday’s] race, being our best qualifying, it was a really good shot at trying to have a good race,” he said.

“I got a really good start, got ahead of Caruso and then he tagged me from behind at [Turn] 3, pushed me wide, passed me and we got into a bit of a tussle at the next corner; I was trying to get him back and we both went wide and lost three spots.

“I was pretty annoyed by that, but we learnt a lot with the car.

“We still didn’t quite have enough speed, there’s still a bit to work out, but it’s all good.”

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