Sunday 01, May 2011

Q. 2011 will mark your eighth year racing in the DTM Championship and your sixth year as reserve and test driver for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 team.  How easy is it to juggle these two roles?

A. It's not easy. With 12 DTM races, plus the testing and simulator work and PR activities for both teams, it fills my schedule up pretty well. I have however been doing both jobs for a while and have great relationships with both teams which makes things easier. The two cars are quite different in performance and driving style so I have to be able to adapt quickly between them.  

 

Q.  Why do you choose to do both roles?

 

A. I think it's quite obvious!! Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport and to be so involved with the development of one of the fastest cars on earth is an amazing thing to be doing. As well as being only one step away from racing in Formula 1. As for DTM, I do this because I love racing more than anything and this gives me something I can't get in Formula 1 at the moment.  The DTM is such a close fought championship that you have to give 100% all the time in order to be fighting for the title.  

 

Q. You finished the 2010 DTM season in second place, just four points behind DTM Champion Paul di Resta.  How disappointed were you to miss out on the Championship by just a handful of points?

 

A. A little. I had a disappointing run of results early in the season and was close to 20 points behind the leader so to finish the season just four back was a great achievement. I won three races, the same amount as Paul, and was in contention for the win until the last race.  You can't win them all but I am certainly going to give it my all to go one step higher this year.  

 

Q. What have you been up to since the 2010 DTM season finished and how have you been preparing for the start of the 2011 season?

 

A. Well after the last DTM race in Shanghai I went on to Abu Dhabi to do the Formula 1 winter testing with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team and have spent most of my time since then in the simulator room developing the MP4-26!! No seriously, the season finished really late so we had quite a short winter break, just enough time to get to know my family again and recharge the batteries ready for 2011.  

 

Q.  A development freeze that was introduced in 2010 remains in place for 2011 for DTM. You finished the 2010 season with a run of strong results, does this leave you confident heading into the 2011 Championship?

A. Yes and no. I am confident we can start the season well but there are no guarantees in DTM and we have to just push as hard as we can and see what we get out of it. The cars are the same and so are most of the drivers which means it's going to be as close as it was last year.  

 

Q. What are your goals for the 2011 DTM season and 2011 Formula 1 season?

 

A. My goals for this year are to be fighting for the DTM title again and hopefully go one step higher and take the crown again as I did in 2005. In Formula 1, I want to help Lewis and Jenson and the whole Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team fight for both Drivers' and Constructors' championships.  

 

Q. Your role at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is not as high profile as that of Jenson and Lewis', yet you play a key part in the development of the car.  Talk us through the key aspects of your role?

 

A. My role with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team this year is mainly focused on the testing and development side. I spend a lot of time in the team's race simulator developing the car.  With the lack of in-season testing the role of the simulator is becoming increasingly important. I work closely with the engineers the team's HQ in at Woking in the simulator to develop the car and to try and maximise the performance of the package we have for each race.  

 

Q.  You took part in the F1 tests in Abu Dhabi and Valencia.  How did they go?

 

A. It was really good to finally get to drive the car after so long out of it. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes gave me a great opportunity to do the majority of the testing on the Pirelli tyres in Abu Dhabi which made it a lot easier to develop the simulator over the winter. And again Valencia, other than being really cold, was a good chance to see the development Pirelli had made over the winter.  

 

Q. You are one of F1's most experienced test drivers, is your goal still to secure an F1 race seat?

 

A. Am I?? That makes me feel really old! I would love to race in Formula 1 if the opportunity came up of course. But for the moment I will concentrate on what I have and see what may develop in the future.