Josh Webster knows he needs to find form sooner rather than later if his Formula One ambitions are to stay on track.

The Stowmarket racing driver has endured a frustrating start to life in GP3, various mechanical issues with his Status GP car seeing him finishing no higher than 16th in the opening six races.

This weekend’s fourth round at Germany’s Nürburgring marks the halfway point of the series and the 19-year-old, who doesn’t have the backing of a big manufacturer, is desperate to attract the funds required for a second year in the F1 support event.

Speaking after his two 16th-place finishes at Silverstone last weekend, Webster said: “The results have not been what we’d hoped for. I feel like I can be competitive, but I’ve just not had the car underneath me.

“At Silverstone the handling just wasn’t where it needed to be and I just wasn’t able to carry any speed through the corners. Everyone was able to outbreak me.

“I’m not sure if a component was broken, but the team are taking a look at the car.

“It was a great experience racing in front of a home crowd of 120,000, but I’m not going to lie; it would have been 10 times a better experience had I been competing at the front. The disappointing results did put a little dampener on things.”

With rounds to come at Hungaroring, Spa, Monza and Yas Marina (UAE), Webster continued: “I want to progress to GP2 and ultimately Formula One, but to do that I’m going to need to impress sponsors in order to get the backing that’s required.

“It’s easy to say this was just my rookie season and that I will improve next year, but for there to be a next year I need to impress sponsors and show I’m making progress.

“There is still plenty of time to show people what I am capable of, and I am sure it will be a case of when – not if – the car enables me to do that.

“The rounds are coming and going quickly though and it would be nice to put a good weekend together sooner rather than later.”