Your teammate said in Australia that this year’s car is brutal to drive due to the increased speeds and heightened g-force. After three races, have you become accustomed to how the current car affects your body?
“Yes, I would say so. I feel quite good in the car and I think it’s really fun to drive. It’s much more challenging and tough.”
Track records have been broken at every venue this year, emphasizing the drastic increase in speeds. How has this affected your role as a driver? Is there less margin for error because you have to be more precise, more accurate?
“You could say so, but in another way it gives you more room to push hard and search for the limit. It’s not so easy to get to the limit, so in a way you have more room to push.”
Coming into the season there was a question as to how much overtaking was actually possible, and between China and Bahrain there seemed to be a lot of passing. Are you surprised at the amount of overtaking opportunities this year and do you feel it puts more of the race in your hands?
“I think it’s as expected, at least that’s how I expected it to be. Some tracks are fine, others are a bit more difficult, like Australia showed. It’s going to be no different in the likes of Monaco and Singapore.”
You’ve said all along that the Haas VF-17 has speed and a good overall balance. Does that make DNFs (Did Not Finish) a little easier to handle because the next race really does afford a new opportunity?
“Yes, it’s a little easier to handle when you have a bad weekend, because the potential is there and you have something to look forward to.”
You’ve finished fifth and seventh in your two career Formula One starts at the Sochi Autodrom. Is there something about the track that suits your driving style?
“I think it’s a good track and I’ve had some good races there. Hopefully, I can have another good one there this year.”
In each of those starts, you made up significant ground to score points – 11th to fifth in 2014 and 17th to seventh in 2016 for a total of 16 positions. How did you do it, and was one race drastically different from the other?
“I know last year I had a good first lap. Quite a few people messed up and lost things like front wings and so on. I made up lots of positions with that. I then had a really good race after that to finish seventh.”
The Sochi Autodrom seems to emulate Bahrain in terms of setup. How much of what you learned in Bahrain can be transferred to the Russian Grand Prix?
“I think you learn every weekend more and more about the car. You get a better understanding overall, which is going to help everywhere.”
What is your favorite part of the Sochi Autodrom and why?
“I like turns six, seven and eight as they’re high speed.”
Is there a specific portion of the Sochi Autodrom that is more challenging than other aspects of the track?
“Turn three is a bit hard for your neck, it goes on and on. It can be a little bit tiring on your neck.”
The Sochi Autodrom runs around the Olympic Village, as Sochi hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics. Do you follow the Olympics when they take place? Do you have a preference for either the Winter or Summer Olympics, and is there a specific event you like to watch?
“I don’t really follow the Olympics so much. I watch the 100-meter sprint sometimes.”
Much has been made of Fernando Alonso opting to compete in the Indianapolis 500 instead of at Monaco. If there’s one race outside of Formula One that you could run, and management approved it, what would it be and why?
“Maybe a race with dad somewhere.”
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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