Rene Binder: 'I feel ready for the next step…'

Pre-Christmas surprise in the GP2 Series: After a successful joint winter test in Abu Dhabi, Rene Binder was already signed this week by Arden International Motorsport for the 2014 season. The 21-year-old from Fügen in the Zillertal is the first Austrian to race for the traditional English team, and is correspondingly thankful for the trust put in him…

Rene, you are the first Austrian Arden driver and the third Austrian to ever make it into GP2, the official Formula 1 feeder series… “It’s not just about taking part, but it is of course an honour to be chosen by a team which has already brought so much talent to the top. And I was in direct competition with drivers who play in a different league in terms of budget.”

How did it come to the deal with the team founded by Christian and Garry Horner in the first place? “Arden approached me already in August and invited me to the winter tests after a first meeting. Thank goodness I had managed to deliver a few good results in the first half of the season, such as a 6th and 7th place during my debut in Monte Carlo. With Kevin Giovesi, Fabrizio Crestani and Vittorio Ghirelli, I also had three different team colleagues against whom I was able to prevail. And Vittorio did after all win the Auto GP Series. It seems that Arden has been watching me for some time, but the tests in Abu Dhabi were the clincher.”

Eleven out of twelf championship points that Venezuela GP Lazarus earned in 2013 were on your account. So what are your goals for 2014? “I always try to concentrate on the essentials and to make as few mistakes as possible. We will have to wait and see what happens next year in this new environment. As I’ve said in the past, I learned a lot from Tancredi Pagiaro and his team, and I’m very thankful for that. But now I feel ready to take the next step with Arden.”

The 2014 race schedule is set, and therefore also your home race as a support event at Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg… “It really is crazy just how quickly the Grand Prix was sold out. That alone tells you how important motor sports are in Austria, and of course the success of Red Bull Racing hasn’t reduced the level of interest.”

One gets the feeling that the entire sports nation is anticipating the comeback in Spielberg. Can the only Austrian in the GP2 benefit from this as well? “If the results are good, then certainly. My goal is to make the breakthrough with Arden next year, and ideally to deliver one or the other top result even before Spielberg.”

Rene Binder