Conor Daly was in action at the recent GP3 Series tests at Estoril and Jerez, and has said that he is looking to race in Europe next year.
Conor is the son of Irish ex-Formula 1 driver Derek Daly and was born in Indianapolis in the United States. This year he won the American Star Mazda Championship. He tested for Manor Racing at Estoril and then drove for both Status Grand Prix and Carlin at Jerez, showing good pace throughout.
Speaking to the GP3 website during the Estoril test about his first experience in the GP3 car, he said: “It has a lot of grip generated by the floor and it a new experience for me. I really like it because you get to go fast around the corners. It's an interesting car – very technical. I can't wait for the next test now so I can continue learning about it and going faster.”
Daly's aim for the future is to race in Formula 1, and says that racing in Europe will be the only way to reach that aim. “I would love to race in Europe. My ultimate goal is Formula One, but it's obviously big budgets in Europe so we have to work on that. You have to do European formula racing to get to Formula One: the Formula One paddock don't really pay attention to racing in America, so as a driver you need to come over here and hopefully do well and get recognised. That's what I want to do.”
He added that GP3 would be a good series to race in and that he hopes to race in 2011. “It's obviously a huge series. Every race is with Formula 1, that's why I think it's so popular – it's hugely popular right now. There are so many drivers wanting to test just on these six days. It's a really good series. The cars are good, they could do with a slightly better sound, but other than that they are really great and running with the F1 races is why everyone wants to do it. It's such a prestigious weekend to be part of. Hopefully I can do it next year.”
