Jules Bianchi arrives at Silverstone keen to return to the podium after a dismal start to the season.
A mistake at the beginning of the feature race last time out at Valencia put the ART driver in the tyre barrier and ended his hopes of a good result. After four weekends of the nine-event season Bianchi has scored just eight points. This has left him 26 points adrift of compatriot and championship leader Romain Grosjean.
He has often shown front-running pace during the course of a weekend, but been unable to convert that into solid results.
“My position in the first part of the championship has been compromised by several errors on my part,” said the Ferrari Driver Academy driver. “As far as the driver and the team are concerned, there are no problems in terms of performance, because, mishaps and the unexpected aside, things have always gone very well.
“This has pretty much compromised my expectations for the championship, but I'm not beating myself up over it. On the contrary, with a clear mind, I want to start winning as soon as possible.”
Bianchi will be looking to put the record straight at Silverstone, which marks the beginning of three race weekends in a space of four weeks.
“It's a track I liked right from the start,” he said. “The sequence of fast corners is demanding but gives you a great feeling. The only downside of the English track is that's it's difficult to pull off an overtaking move.
“The corners are very high speed and so, following a car closely produces a significant loss of aerodynamic downforce. That makes the car harder to control and increases tyre wear.”