Mark Webber Completed Test of GP3 Car

Mark Webber

With so many racing series to feed the Formula One championship with young, talented drivers nowadays, one could not be held responsible for losing track of who's actually more important when picking the next F1 champion. Is it the GP2, GP2 Asia Series, GP3 or F2?

While the answers might differ from one racing fan to another, Mark Webber decided it was time for him to enter the team management world and started his own racing team, in the GP3 Series. His efforts will not be alone though, as he will be joined in by his Red Bull manager Christian Horner in setting up the GP3 outfit.

The team's name will be MW Arden and the Australian driver admitted that he has come to a point in his career where he needs to figure out what his life will be after Formula One racing. And setting up an organization in which young drivers can progress to the GP2 Series and later to F1 looks like the perfect fit for the time being.

“I'm not at the beginning of the F1 career so it was a logical step for me,” said Webber, shortly after testing the new GP3 single seater at France's Paul Ricard circuit, on Tuesday. The Aussie admitted it was a fun test to undergo, as the GP3 machineries are actually a smaller version of an actual F1 car.

“It's my first experience driving the car and I can honestly say it is like driving a small F1 car,” said Webber, who also emphasised the importance of the GP3 series from 2010 onwards.

“The biggest advantage for this championship has to be racing at the Formula One race weekends. This will give drivers great exposure, and for sure all of the team bosses will be watching during race weekends. Overall I think it is a great car I am very impressed by the whole package, and I am looking forward to the first race next season,” added Webber.

The chassis for the GP3 single-seaters will be provided by Dallara, while the engine partner for the series is Renault F1 Team. The engines will be turbocharged and will be built at the Viry-Chatillon factory, and the cars will be fit with Pirelli tires. Also, the championship's partners in terms of electronics will be Hewland.

Gallery of the test downwards...

More images in the gallery below.