On the Mid-Ohio road racing layout, Servia and Montoya tried the new Dallara kit in the configuration proposed for short ovals, road courses and street circuits next season.

In the tests the drivers tried different levels of downforce to try to arrive at the right compromise between a fast, responsive car and one which is not overly susceptible to aerodynamic disturbance – thereby making overtaking more difficult.

"It was very consistent, especially if we end up going on the lower downforce package," Servia explained. "You have to drive it, which is fun. You have to lift and you're still doing the same lap speed (as with more downforce), which is interesting. Exact same lap speed."

"I was able to run a decent distance behind Juan Pablo, and the car just loses a little bit of grip but (with) a four-tyre kind of slide. “It's not like the front loses a lot of (grip) or the rear loses a lot, which is the problem with the current car."

The high downforce setting used in the test was similar to the level used on the current cars at the recent Mid-Ohio race. The lower downforce setting represented a 20-percent reduction.

"It's interesting how you can run the same lap time and in one (downforce level) you're completely flat out and the other one you are lifting (off the accelerator in the turns)," said Montoya.

"We're trying to understand what's the best way to bring the best racing."