- Language:
It’s been a while since I reported on my life as a Formula 1 racing driver; now it’s time to put that right. After 4 not entirely successful races the Istanbul Grand Prix is approaching. Another chance to do things better and share in some of the luck.
There’s no great point in looking back; I’d rather take stock and set new goals. After having had major problems in qualifying in the first three races, we managed to deal with the problem before Barcelona and it was a comforting feeling to be up there with my team mate in all the training sessions. Unfortunately, in the most important third round of qualifying I experienced something I really didn’t need. After strong first and second sectors the front right brake disk broke and I had to abandon what had been up till then a good lap. I’ve never experienced that before and it was particularly painful for it to happen at that time. The only positive I could take from Barcelona was the fact that I seem to have rediscovered my speed. I need to build on that in Istanbul.
After 4 bends my race in Barcelona was over. I thought I had a gap in which to overtake David Coulthard. Unfortunately by the time I was alongside him the gap had disappeared. My fault, no question about that. I have already apologised to David, but he was able to continue without suffering any effects.
No doubt you have also noticed that things are starting to happen at Force India. It’s clear that things are on the up; everyone is really buzzing. It’s also great for me to see that I have the full support of everyone in the team and that nobody is putting me under unnecessary pressure. I do enough of that myself! If you look at the times you can see how tight it’s become in the F1 middle order. 5-6 places are decided by two to three tenths of a second. For us that means we can’t let up; we have to keep improving the car. In Giancarlo Fisichella we’ve brought in a very experienced, top rate man to the team, from whom I’m learning a lot.
We’ll see if we make progress in Istanbul. Our aim has to be Q2.
I will keep you posted.
There’s no great point in looking back; I’d rather take stock and set new goals. After having had major problems in qualifying in the first three races, we managed to deal with the problem before Barcelona and it was a comforting feeling to be up there with my team mate in all the training sessions. Unfortunately, in the most important third round of qualifying I experienced something I really didn’t need. After strong first and second sectors the front right brake disk broke and I had to abandon what had been up till then a good lap. I’ve never experienced that before and it was particularly painful for it to happen at that time. The only positive I could take from Barcelona was the fact that I seem to have rediscovered my speed. I need to build on that in Istanbul.
After 4 bends my race in Barcelona was over. I thought I had a gap in which to overtake David Coulthard. Unfortunately by the time I was alongside him the gap had disappeared. My fault, no question about that. I have already apologised to David, but he was able to continue without suffering any effects.
No doubt you have also noticed that things are starting to happen at Force India. It’s clear that things are on the up; everyone is really buzzing. It’s also great for me to see that I have the full support of everyone in the team and that nobody is putting me under unnecessary pressure. I do enough of that myself! If you look at the times you can see how tight it’s become in the F1 middle order. 5-6 places are decided by two to three tenths of a second. For us that means we can’t let up; we have to keep improving the car. In Giancarlo Fisichella we’ve brought in a very experienced, top rate man to the team, from whom I’m learning a lot.
We’ll see if we make progress in Istanbul. Our aim has to be Q2.
I will keep you posted.
