After a double podium at the Turkish Grand Prix how positive are you feeling going into the final six races of the season?
I feel great at the moment, I cannot wait to get back in the car again and I am massively looking forward to the weekend. Going into the season run in, we know we must maximise everything from our side. I think Mercedes have been very strong in the last four or five races and we haven’t been able to match them for speed, but I believe that Austin and Mexico are going to be good tracks for us, and you will see us producing stronger performances.
It was a great Team performance for you and your car crew in Turkey, how much are you enjoying this first year with your team?
We are working very well together as a group and I am looking forward to the rest of the year. This is an important race for us and I am really pumped up, as is the whole Team. Hopefully, I can be on the podium again in Austin.
You had your first show run experience in Dallas on Saturday, did that get you excited for the US Grand Prix?
Driving the show run has given me an amazing energy going into this race weekend. We live in such a small bubble during the season and it is easy to forget about what is going on outside because of your focus on your sport. When we hold events like the show run it makes us realise how much we, as Red Bull Racing Honda, mean to people and how much our sport means to them. So many Mexicans and Latinos came out to see me and I loved their support – that has ignited a fire in me for the weekend. My fans mean the world to me, they are so special and so unique so I can’t wait to see more of them in Austin. The crowd brought so much energy in Dallas, they were so enthusiastic, and I just can’t wait to experience that again this weekend. I have really missed the big crowds so there should be an incredible atmosphere. I want to give everyone a great weekend of action in Austin and hopefully repeat the success we had in Turkey last time out.
What does racing in the United States mean to you?
Austin feels like a second home race to me because I am always so warmly received here, I love coming to the States. There will be a lot of support for myself and the Team this weekend, so I am hoping to please a lot of people in the crowd and, of course, in Mexico. This is the most special part of the season for me, with the US Grand Prix and then my home race in Mexico. I think it will be great to have Miami next season too and that will feel like another home race for me. I have been racing in America for several years now and I can see the passion for the sport is growing here, which is great. Even five years ago it wasn’t as popular as you see now, so I think Formula 1 is only going to get bigger stateside because we have a great sport.
