What
does the 2011 season mean to you?
I think it is definitely
a key season for me this year. Every season is important
and definitely this one is going to be very significant
for myself, because it is my second full year in Formula
1 and because it is the second year that Toro Rosso
builds its own car, so it will be completely decisive
for our future, for the future of Toro Rosso and for my
future, because we obviously need to target our
competitors which are Williams, Force India and Sauber.
We need to fight against them and finish the
championship ahead of them.
With KERS and the
adjustable rear wing, you are going to be very busy in
the cockpit. How will you deal with all this new
technology? I
think 2011 rules are not tested yet so we will see how
they work. It looks quite difficult to adapt to the KERS
and the adjustable rear wing. We need to test it and see
how it goes. I think the KERS is not so difficult,
because before the race weekend you can already study
and understand the places where you can use it and how
to use it during the race. However, the rear wing I'm
not sure about. It's a question mark for everyone, for
all the drivers. In 2010 we had the front wing, where we
could feel quite a difference definitely on the car
balance in the race and when you changed tyre compound
and when you had big tyre degradation it was a big help.
We will see how it goes with the rear wing because it's
a completely new thing for everyone.
Q. You had one day
driving on Pirelli tyres in Abu Dhabi. What do you
expect the change in tyre supplier will bring?
That's another big
question mark for everybody - the tyres. I think Pirelli
tyres will work quite well, because we had a good
experience in Abu Dhabi, the first test so far. We were
quite happy with the performance of the tyres.
Bridgestone was a big reference for everyone, because
they had a so much experience in Formula 1. I don't
really know how fast or slow we will be on the Pirellis
compared to them, but, so far, the performance seems
quite similar so we can expect more or less the same lap
times in every place.
Do you expect all
these changes will make overtaking easier, which is what
they are supposed to do?
I think in Formula 1 you
always look for overtaking performance and definitely
last year, it was not easy to overtake. That has always
been the case in Formula 1: it is always difficult to
overtake another car because as you know you brake very
near to the actual corner. Even if one car has a speed
advantage, it is never that easy, so I think in general
we always look for overtaking performance. This year, it
can be different with the KERS system and definitely
with less downforce on the car, we should expect to have
to brake a bit earlier and with the moveable rear wing
all these kind of things will make overtaking easier.
We face the longest
season in F1 history. How can you prepare for that
physically and mentally?
I think in general what
you need from the physical side is to be fit going into
the start of the racing, because twenty Grands Prix is a
long season with one more race in India so you are
looking to have a good physical condition and stay cool
between all the travel and the adventures we live around
the world. It will not be easy and I expect it to be
tough for all us drivers to maintain a rhythm on our
travels, with so many places to go and with the jet lag
and so on. But with the level of fitness among Formula 1
drivers it will not be a big deal.
Stability – you
have the same engineers, mechanics and team-mate. A
useful factor?
Yes, of course, I think
to stay with the same team, definitely the same
engineers and with the same people and mechanics in the
background in Faenza, knowing the whole team for one and
a half years is quite important and definitely will help
me a lot this season. I am really looking forward to the
start of the year because they know what they can expect
from my side and I know more or less what I can expect
from my engineer and the people that work for me. So I
expect a lot for this season from the car and on the
development side.