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A lot of people think Formula One isn’t a sport because everyone drives a car when they go to work in the morning. But we’re pulling up to six G on a corner or during breaking, which is almost like being a fighter pilot. So we have to do a lot of work on our neck muscles.
To drive an F1 car you have to be a little mad. On the morning of a race there’s a mix of excitement and fear. If it’s a wet track, then it’s worse as you’re not in control most of the time, which is the thing all drivers fear the most.
We go through the whole season working on next season’s car and developing the car and making sure we fit in the car and all that sort of stuff. And we obviously give ideas of what we would hope next year’s car would have even if it’s small things like buttons on the steering wheel and different positions and whatever.
I can’t eat whatever I want, definitely not. I’m always controlled because I do a lot of fitness and triathlons, not just Formula One, so I always make sure I eat the right things.
For me, triathlons were something that was down to me and my fitness. Now, I really enjoy the pain in the triathlon of chasing someone down. It’s a bit like chasing down Nico Rosberg in the last few laps at Silverstone – it makes you feel alive.
Resting for me is fitness training.
When I’m on my own, I can be negative. I need my friends and family around to help pick me up if I’ve had a bad qualifying session. I think insecurity plagues a lot of sportspeople.
The only time I think about life beyond F1 is when I contemplate becoming a dad. But there’s no way that’s going to happen while I’m still racing. To be successful in F1 you need to be very selfish in lots of ways and you’re away from home for long periods. That’s not the kind of father I want to be.
In my hometown there is a pub named after me – The Frome Flyer on Jenson Avenue. How cool is that?!
You’re pulling 4-5G for a lot of the corners around the lap. We build up lactic acid because there are a lot of vibrations in the car, and you have to have strong legs to hit the brake pedal. We need to be fit to do every lap at 100%.