Paul di Resta
Paul, you’ve had five weeks to recharge your batteries over the summer break. Do you feel refreshed?
I think the summer break was good for everybody. I spent the time at home, seeing friends, watching the Olympics and keeping up with my training. We’re only half way through the season and the next few months are probably the busiest of the year with lots of fly-away races so it was important to relax and come back fresh.
So you’re ready to get the season back underway?
Spa is a great place to begin the second part of the season. It’s one of the best tracks in the world and it always feels special to go back there. I never had the chance to race there a lot in my junior career so it’s nice to be able to go there and experience such an impressive range of corners in a Formula 1 car.
What’s the target for the second half of the season?
There’s still a long way to go in the championship and we need to get back to scoring regular points. Last year we ended the season strongly and we need to do the same this year. Williams are not too far ahead of us but Sauber have a big points advantage and it’s going to be a big task to overcome that. But we won’t give up; we’ll keep pushing and see what we can do. We definitely have the potential to get some big results before the end of the year.
Nico Hulkenberg
Nico, you’ve spent five weeks away from Formula 1. What have you been up to?
I spent a lot of time in Germany and at home, visiting family and friends who I don’t get to see very often, which was really nice. I also went to Majorca for a week – we Germans love it there!
How important was it to recharge your batteries?
It was nice to have a break and cool down a little, but to be honest it has been long enough now and I’m looking forward to getting back to the racing.
With nine races to go, what are your hopes and expectations for the second half of the year?
I hope that we can make another step forward and can consistently score good results. We are eighth in the championship right now and clearly we want to make a big effort to improve on that in the coming races.
Looking ahead to Spa, tell us what it feels like to drive a Formula 1 car there…
Spa is a great track. There’s just such a great flow to the circuit with some mighty corners that are incredible. It’s definitely one of the best places to drive a Formula 1 car to feel the performance through the high-speed corners. It is one of my favourite tracks.
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