Nobuharu Matsushita sets a 3-year goal to be in F1
Teammate of Stoffel Vandoorne in GP2, Nobuharu Matsushita looks back on his 2015 season, during which he was notably able to compare the driving differences between Asian and European drivers.
Matshushita arrived in GP2 after four years in single-seaters in Asia. It was in 2015 that the Honda protégé began in the discipline that is considered the last step before aspiring to F1.
For his first season in GP2, the Asian driver is currently ranked 11th, ahead of the last two events (in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi). According to him, the ART Grand Prix driver is ranked so poorly because he lacks experience on European tracks compared to his competitors who have been racing on these circuits for many years: “It’s very difficult, I don’t have experience on many European circuits. For me, every time is a first time and we only have 45 minutes of practice before qualifying, it makes things more difficult.”
He still congratulates himself on his journey: « For me, I made a big step by moving from Japanese F3 to GP2. The engines are bigger, the tires are bigger, there’s a lot of competition » he continued for Motorsport.
If he won a race this season in GP2 during the sprint race in Hungary, he considers himself still in learning: « In GP2, the drivers are much more aggressive and they know the tracks, they have race experience. I am still in the learning phase. During the races at Spa and Monza, I had contacts and it affected me because in GP2, if you lose a position, you tend to lose many more. So it’s complicated to keep up. ».
Next season, he should compete in GP2, but still doesn’t know with which team: “I will probably do GP2 next season, I hope to achieve good results and try to make it to F1 as a reserve or main driver, I don’t know yet. If I do GP2 next year, I should be with ART Grand Prix, but I’m not sure because it all depends on Honda.”
