AT&T Williams F1

Bad luck, but good pace at Sepang I have mixed emotions following the Malaysian Grand Prix. On the one hand, it was very disappointing not to finish the race because I’d been running strongly in sixth place when a mechanical problem stopped me with just 14 laps to go. But I also take some satisfaction from the weekend because I was competitive in both qualifying and the race. That wasn’t the case in Melbourne, where we underperformed in qualifying, so the team can be pleased with the job that we did at Sepang. We maximised the potential of the FW29. Another positive aspect of the weekend was my fitness because I felt fine after the race, despite the extreme heat and humidity. The cockpit temperature of my FW29 peaked at 60 degrees – and the fluid in my drinks’ bottle quickly resembled a cup of tea as a result – but my performance didn’t suffer at all. It’s my job to be fit enough to drive the car in all conditions, and I spent the weeks leading up to the race acclimatising to the heat and humidity. From Melbourne I flew to the island of Koh Samui with fellow F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton – who was my team-mate in karting – and Adrian Sutil. We had a good laugh and did a lot of training together, which was useful (and very competitive!). It also meant that my body was fully acclimatised to the conditions by the time I arrived in Malaysia a week later. There was a four-day test session at Sepang, laid on by the GP organisers to fill the three-week gap between the opening two races. It was there that we made our breakthrough in qualifying trim, and my team-mate Alex Wurz and I came away feeling quite confident for the race weekend. I spent the next 10 days at a beach resort located 45 minutes from the track. I stayed in a water chalet over the sea and had a relaxing time. There was a pool, a gym and a tennis court, so I was able to continue my physical preparations for the race. A few Toro Rosso mechanics were also staying there, so we met up for some beach volleyball games, which was fun. After the Malaysian GP I headed straight to the airport and jumped on a plane to Bahrain. I like the Kingdom very much because it reminds me of Dubai 15 years ago: it’s not too developed yet and the weather’s great. There aren’t any beaches to speak of, but I’m sure they will build a few before too long! As for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, I’m really looking forward to it. I like the track very much because there are some challenging corners and I’ve always gone well there. In 2005 I won the GP2 Series there and last year I finished seventh on my F1 debut. If we can keep up the momentum that we generated in Malaysia, I see no reason why we can’t get a good result.