Q+A with Jaime Alguersuari
The Spanish Grand Prix signals the start of the European part of the season: a good time to quiz Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari about the season so far and expectations for his upcoming home race.
Are you looking forward to the Spanish Grand Prix? “Yes, because every time I have raced here it is has been special as it is my home track and there is plenty of support for me, making for a great atmosphere. This will be the first time I race in the Spanish Grand Prix and I expect there will be a lot of my friends and fans coming to watch, also because there are several Spanish drivers on the grid this year. One important factor is that this is the first track of the season I have driven on before, so that should make life easier for me.”
Will you treat this race differently to any other? “No, because after all, it is just one more round of the championship. However, as a home race, all the support from the fans will make a slight difference, in the same way that football teams have an advantage playing a Home match. But in the way we will go about doing our work, it will be the same as all the others.”
You scored your first F1 points in Malaysia. Did you expect that to happen so early in the season? “No, because there is so much for me still to learn. I am like a sponge at the moment, absorbing every bit of experience I can. The speed is coming, but I am still not getting one hundred percent out of the car and this will get easier as I learn the tracks and get more confident, so I am expecting a lot from the Barcelona weekend.”
You have been involved in some exciting duels on the track. Have you enjoyed that? “At the moment we don’t have a winning car so we have to battle for points. It’s the only chance we have. When you get in the car you are relaxed but aggressive because you know you are going to fight. And that is what we drivers like; we don’t like to race on our own having an easy race. Of course we all want to win but it’s more fun to fight someone and it’s been like that since I was go-karting. That has always been my mentality to be aggressive and to win the fight.”
Your opinion of the Catalunya track? “Catalunya is a very nice track as it has a good variety of slow, medium and high speed corners and it is very technical. Corners like the blind Turn 7 are very exciting and there are some overtaking opportunities, especially the first corner, as long as you get a good run out of the final turn. The circuit layout tests every aspect of a car’s performance, aero, mechanical, engine, so if the STR5 works well here, it will be a good sign for the rest of the year.”
Source Scuderia Toro Rosso
