Highlander Lewis eyes GP3 titleposted in MSPOR25 | 08 | 2011
HIGHLANDER LEWIS WILLIAMSON heads into the penultimate weekend of the GP3 Championship, at the daunting Spa-Francorchamps, knowing he has every chance of lifting the title in his rookie season.
But the 21-year-old from Golspie, backed by private consortium Highland Arena, is refusing to put himself under any pressure. Instead the level-headed youngster, part of the Red Bull Young Driver Development Programme, is simply concentrating on doing the best he can.
"There's not really much more I can do," Williamson, the current McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year, smiled. "The championship, of course, is there in the background, but this weekend I'll just concentrate on doing what I can in each of the two races."
The talented young Scot, who drives for the MW Arden team owned by Red Bull boss Christian Horner and F1 racer Mark Webber, is currently 10 points off the championship lead with four races — and 40 points — remaining.
After the double-header this weekend — as part of the F1 Belgian Grand Prix support package — at Spa, Williamson will head for the final showdown at Monza a fortnight later.
"I know I can't win the championship this weekend," he continued, "but I can either put myself in with a great chance of lifting the title, or I can rule myself out if I have two bad results; and I have no intention of doing the latter.
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"My primary aim this weekend is to get the best out of the car that I can, and come away with two strong, point-scoring finishes. If I can do that, I'll be happy."
And what constitutes two "strong" finishes? Push Williamson on the subject and he'll admit two podiums would be perfect, though he'd certainly like to think one of those would be a win.
It will though be a mighty challenge for the youngster, who spent the early part of this week at Red Bull's HQ at Milton Keynes learning about the unique challenges of Spa.
"I've never even been to Spa before," he admitted, "but from everything I've seen and read about the track — and from what I've been told — it's a real test of driver's skill.
"And that suits me. The last few races have been heavily influenced by rain and weather conditions which, in many ways, has levelled the playing field.
"Hopefully it'll stay dry this weekend — though I know Spa has a reputation for being wet — and I can let my driving do the talking. Then we can move on to Monza. First though, I have a job to do in Spa."
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Jim McGill