The experienced German, who has retired from half of this year’s races, maintains he was under no illusion that driving for a new constructor would be a testing experience, but says he is determined to help move Virgin forward.
“Our debut season at Virgin Racing has been a big challenge but I always knew this would be the case when I joined the team, “he told his official website. “The start of the year in particular was quite difficult but since then we have really started to turn things around and since the middle of the season we have made very good progress with the development of the car.”
Glock, a veteran of 47 Grand Prix starts, admitted the season’s early rounds brought their fair share of frustration, particularly when the team made things harder for themselves, such as when the VR-01’s chassis had to be altered after its fuel tank was found to be too small to complete some Grands Prix at race pace.
However, Virgin have kept their heads down and after out-performing fellow newcomers Lotus in Hungary recently (on both qualifying and race pace) Glock believes the team are finally beginning to see the fruits of their labour.
“For the last three or four races we have brought new developments to the car at every race, which have translated immediately from the simulator to the track and that has been very encouraging to see,” he continued. “Our digital approach means that we can also continue with the development of this year’s car right up until the end of the season, as well as working on next year’s car.”
According to Glock, it is this gradual but constant improvement that gives him faith that the team is ultimately capable of challenging the established teams, albeit perhaps not in 2010.
“If development stopped or we didn’t keep moving forward then like any driver I would become frustrated, but so far this is not the case,” he commented. “We are improving all the time now, but there are also bigger steps we have to take in the future.”
In light of this, Glock was also eager to put to bed any media speculation that he could be seeking a drive elsewhere next season.
“I have a long-term contract with Virgin Racing and I’m fully committed to the team moving forward,” he concluded. “We have what it takes to fight to continue to achieve our objectives for this season and in the future.”
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