What did you know about your teammate before this season?
Julian: Can I speak freely? (He laughs)
Fabio: You have to know that if you say something bad I will say something bad as well. (He laughs)
Julian: Seriously, Fabio is a very good driver who has won the Formula Master. He had a big crash in FR 2.0
Fabio: Ah? You know that?
Julian: Yes! You showed it to me!
Fabio: Ah yes...
(Both laugh)
Julian: I know he broke up with his girlfriend but already has another one.
Fabio: Why do you have to tell that?
(Both laugh)
Fabio: I didn’t know Julian before this season but when I found out he would be my teammate I went to check him on Internet and I saw that he was driving in F3 two years ago and last year he was in World Series. I think it’s important to know your teammate... I saw that he had a few good years but last year was more difficult for him. But I think he is a very good driver because I think everybody who is a rookie in GP2 has a tough year. I think that his second year next year could be very interesting. Now we know each other very well and we are very good friends.

What are each other’s greatest strengths?
Fabio: He is always very quick after the race to go back to the hotel.
(Both laugh)
Fabio: I need much more time after the race to watch everything
Julian: Come on! Last time you left before me!
Fabio: Yes, that was after the sprint race and I wanted to leave early to go home!
(Both laugh)
Fabio: For his rookie year, Julian was pretty good. We have been struggling a lot this year and he is trying to do his best. He is pushing me quite hard. I think he is doing a very good job. He can improve for next year.
Julian: I want to say a lot of nice things about you too, Fabio, but the problem is that my English is not so good!
(Both laugh)
Julian: But, for me, he is a really good driver. Maybe this year it is difficult for me to help him because I’m a rookie. But we are improving. He is helping me a lot. He’s always ahead of me in qualy, but in the race I try to do my best to give information to the engineers. I think Fabio is a very good driver.

Any weaknesses?
Julian: I don’t know...
Fabio: It’s difficult to say. Maybe in the qualy, Julian can still improve, but it’s his first year. In half an hour, to find the limit in the car is difficult, even for me. And in the race, he needs a little bit of time to get used to it. He may be struggling a bit in the first 5 laps but then he’s really quick. Normally in the race from the middle to the end, he is quicker than me.

Who gets to the track the latest?
Fabio: It’s actually really funny because at the beginning of the year it was Julian but now it’s more me since Silverstone.
Julian: I try to wake up three hours before Marco (Galuppi) tells me to. (He laughs) At the start of the season, Marco was always telling me that I was late and that I should take Fabio as an example... So I tried to improve that!
Fabio: Marco told me that he’s telling to be here at 9:30 but he tells Julian 8:30 because he knows he is late. But now, he is earlier than me!
Julian: In Colombia, if you tell people to arrive at 8:00, they all arrive at 8:30...! But here you need to be on time. You don’t want to be late for the start of the race!

Who is the most successful with the ladies?
Fabio: we both have a girlfriend. But it’s me. If I don’t say that, my girlfriend will be angry. I was single for a long time and this year this is already my second girlfriend! (He laughs)
Julian: I’ve been with my girlfriend for 2 years and seven months.
Fabio: Ok, maybe I lost...

Are you superstitious?
Fabio: Look to your left and you can see my really nice lucky underwear... Actually, they look quite gay but I don’t know why I was wearing them in Barcelona and I won so I kept them! It’s quite strange but it’s quite funny. But I don’t wear them every time.
Julian: They are really ugly.
Fabio: Thank you.
(Both laugh)
Fabio: Everyone talk about them and tell me the same thing.
Julian: Now everyone reading the blog will know! Next time you are on the podium... As for me, I only make a prayer but that’s all.

Who will have the best road car in ten years’ time?
Fabio: At the moment, I have a big pick up. I like it but my aim is to get an Audi R8 but first I need to make money! When you get to F1, you will have a nice car because you make money or maybe they actually give you a car, but if you don’t get to F1... (He laughs)
Julian: My dream car? I like the Subaru Impreza. You can work a lot on the car.

Who will have the most beautiful wife in ten years’ time?
Julian: You?
Fabio: Why do you say me?
Julian: I meant, you answer first!
(Both laugh)
Fabio: Well, I don’t know... I hope it will be me. For a racing driver, it’s hard because you don’t have a lot of time to spend with your girlfriend.
Julian: Colombian women are really beautiful and my girlfriend is the most beautiful.

Who has the best fashion senses?
Fabio: I don’t really care about fashion. I actually don’t like to go shopping. After five minutes, I want to go home! I don’t have that many clothes. Plus, you’ve seen my lucky underwear! (He laughs). I think Julian has a better style than I do.
Julian: I like fashion, but I’ve been wearing the same tee-shirt all year long...
(Both laugh)

Who is the shyest?
Julian: Me
Fabio: I’m also quite shy.
Julian: I am more than you. My English is not so good and I can’t speak a lot.
Fabio: True. I’m quiet. Not too shy.
Julian: I’m not quiet!

Who tells the most jokes?
Fabio: I would say it’s me. But Julian is making quite a lot of jokes.

Do you have a favourite sportsman or sportswoman?
Fabio: For me, it’s hard to say because I admire a lot of people. I don’t want to be like them, but I’m watching up to them because they’ve accomplished so much like Federer, Schumacher, Senna, Raikkonen... They did a lot for the sport.
Julian: More or less, like Fabio. But also, I like Vettej’s driving style and his mind. He is very strong. I like also Juan-Paolo Montoya. He is a bit crazy but he was entertaining.
Fabio: It’s a big shame he left F1 because he could overtake! I think no one could do it, but he could.
Julian, if you invited Fabio for dinner what would you cook?
Fabio: A romantic dinner...
Julian: I don’t know. Hot dogs. Hamburger
Fabio: How romantic!
(Both laugh)
Julian: He likes pasta carbonara and arabiata a lot! So I will cook that.
Fabio: I would cook proper Swiss food like fondue or raclette. It’s a lot of warm cheese. You either like it or hate it, but I don’t care because when you’re in Switzerland you just have to eat it!
(Both laugh)

Who has the most contacts in their phones?
Fabio: How do you see that? Every time I read the teammate interview with the other guys, they always say “I have to go check” and they find it... This is more complicated than I thought. I’m not so clever!
(Both laugh)
Fabio: 936
Julian: I can't find it!

What did you know about your teammate?
Christian: That he is Spanish... We races some years ago in Formula 3 so I knew the name but nothing more. We met a few times in the paddock, but that’s it.
Dani: I knew he was German and I knew him from Formula 3 and from BMW. You did BMW right?
Christian: I won it.
(Both laugh)
Dani: In the paddock, we never had the opportunity in F3 to talk to each other. Maybe he was scared because I am too pretty. It happens to me all the time.
(Both laugh)

What are each other greatest strengths?
Dani: In the car, he can be really quick. That’s good for the team. When we are with the engineers, we can give good feedback.
Christian: He is one of the most experienced driver in the paddock and that’s a great advantage for the team and for me as well, especially last year. We are improving the car a lot with each race.
Dani: We’re on it! We keep pushing.

Any weaknesses?
Christian: Of course. (He laughs). But I keep them secret!
Dani: He just have an ugly helmet. That’s the only weakness!
(Both laugh)

Who gets to the track the latest?
Dani: Christian.
Christian: I’m busier... I’m always late
Dani: I got here yesterday and went to a barbecue with the team.

Who is the most successful with the ladies?
Christian: I think actually I am.
Dani: You have a girlfriend?
Christian: You don’t?
Dani: Off the record... No.
(He laughs)

Are you superstitious?
Christian: No.
Dani: I am.
Christian: Yes you are. Big time!
Dani: It’s actually more of a routine that I have.
Christian: He always has a warm up before he steps in the car which lasts at least fifteen minutes.
Dani: It’s true. I close the curtain here and you can hear some weird things.
(Both laugh)
Dani: It’s just rituals I have before I step in the car and after that I feel good and positive. Plus, my helmet is magic! It’s got a pentagram on top with magical words. Every helmet I have every year is different and special.
Christian: I always change colours of my helmet. It’s the same design, but no one else has the colours that I am using.

Who will have the best road car in ten years’ time?
Dani: Me. I’m attracted to nice, wholesome and expensive car. Right now, I like the M3 a lot. I really like to make my own car. I like old cars and I prepare them. Maybe for me it will be the best car, one I did myself.
Christian: I have a Mercedes that I like very much.

Who will have the most beautiful wife?
Dani: I want to get married, for sure.
Christian: It’s a bit early to say...
Dani: My wife will be the most beautiful no matter what. But I don’t look just for beauty in women. I’m sensitive!

Who has the best fashion sense?
Dani: Me.
Christian: Me.
Dani: You’re German. I’m Spanish, so really, me.
(Both laugh)

Who is the shyest?
Dani: Me.
Christian: Seriously?!
Dani: When I meet someone I don’t know, I’m shy!
Christian: I am not really shy. I am quiet.

Do you have any favourite sportsmen or sportswomen?
Dani: I would say Rafael Nadal.
Christian: I like Roger Federer. I like his mentality. He never gives up. He’s a bit like Nadal. I watched a game live in Australia and it was unbelievable. He always fights back. He never gives up. Always calm, not really showing his emotions... That’s the only sportsman I know who can keep so much in control.
Dani: Nadal is the same. His mentality, his strength, his training. It’s fundamental how you’ve been taught. He had good people around him and I’ve seen him a lot. He’s just a really talented and hard-worker. Sometimes you can have talent but you don’t work enough. Sometimes you work hard but you don’t have the talent. If you put the two together, bam! You have a big champion.

Who tells the most jokes?
Christian: It’s quite easy...
(Both Laugh)
Dani: Ok, but I know when to be serious. I like to see the team happy in general.

Who is the wildest on the track and off the track?
Christian: I think we’re both focus. There are drivers who are worse than us...
Dani: We are focused. Off the track, Christian goes out.
Christian: Usually yes, but this year I’m too busy.
Dani: You must go to Mercedes parties!
(Both laugh)
Dani: I live in Switzerland where there is not a lot of things to do. I am calm. I don’t do anything crazy and there I keep myself focus.
Christian: I live close to Nurburgring. It’s a very small place. It’s quiet. It’s good for training. On my free time, I do some sports and relax.
Dani: Apart from training, I have my hobby: I like to make my own cars and bikes from old cars and bikes. I’m into drifting now! I’m practicing.
Christian: I just started golf and I’m quite into now. It’s quite fun. I thought it was only for old guys, but actually it’s great. You have to hit the ball in the perfect angle. It’s very hard.

If you invited Dani for diner, what would you could?
Christian: I don’t really cook. I can do some pasta. That’s it. Or I’ll call the pizza service.
Dani: I’m actually a good cook. I would do something simple, don’t want to impress him too much. Let’s take it slow!
(Both laugh)
Dani: I would cook something simple like pan con tomate. I know that people think it’s simple and weird, bread with tomato and olive oil, but it’s actually awesome. Maybe I would could some tortilla. Something simple.
Christian: Sounds nice.

Who has the most contacts in their phone?
Dani: I think it’s me
Christian: 641
Dani: I have like 1500.

What did you know about your teammate before this season?
Marcus: We drove together in Abu Dhabi during the winter Series. He is a cool guy.
Sam: I tried to kill you on a jet ski.
Marcus: That’s right! Normal stuff, really. But he is easy to be around. He kicked my ass in the ART car which was also nice.
(He laughs)
Sam: Marcus has been successful in every step of his career. He won BMW the first time which is very impressive. He’s moved to British F3, then won Japanese F3. He’s still got the record for the fastest ever lap in Macao.
Marcus: You know a lot!
Sam: I studied before this interview.
(Both laugh)
Sam: I’ve raced him a couple of times before GP2. We’ve been teammates since the beginning of this season and it’s been a fun year so far.

What are each other’s greatest strengths?
Sam: He’s got a very solid technique and he is definitely not afraid in the fast corners. He’s very strong. There’s not much else to say. He is very talented and I am very privileged to be his teammate. We learn off of each other.
Marcus: I think to be honest, in the last two years of GP2, there are not a lot of drivers who are quicker than Sam. For me, to race against him and be in the same team is very good because I can look where I can improve and also we can help each other to fine tune the car. It’s the best experience I’ve had so far with a teammate. We are in a fantastic team as well.

Any weaknesses?
Marcus: Everyone has weaknesses.
Sam: What are you trying to say?
Marcus: It’s difficult to point something in particular. He likes to switch off my Swedish music.
Sam: Yes, but it is utter rubbish!
Marcus: Come on! There are some amazing bands!
Sam: It’s like listening to an alien! It’s that bad!
(Both laugh)
Sam: It’s so awful. It’s like the worst record in the world! And some of the mechanics like this one song.
Marcus: It’s awesome!
Sam: It’s just awful!
Marcus: Future UK number One!
(Both laugh)
Sam: I reckon his weakness is in his hair. You know the story of Samson. Marcus’ hair is very long now and he is very quick. I reckon we should shave his head!

Who gets to the circuit last?
Marcus: Me.
Sam: It’s a little bit like Jules last year.
Marcus: Before I get to breakfast I have to watch a little bit of TV. I’m sort of very sleepy...
Sam: You know it’s Marcus if you hear “I’m tired” or “I’m hungry”. There’s nothing else in between!
(Both laugh)

Who is the most successful with the ladies?
Marcus: We both have girlfriends.
Sam: We’re very serious. But the GP2 paddock has Stefano (Coletti) who is girl-crazy enough for the whole paddock!

Are you superstitious?
Marcus: Not really... Except for getting in the car from the same side.
Sam: Same. I had a lucky set of underwear after Monza last year because they worked pretty well. So I took them to Abu Dhabi and obviously Sergio (Perez) crashed into me in Race 2. They worked in Race 1, got them washed...

Who will have the best road car in ten years time?
Marcus: I kind of like Ferrari.
Sam: Politically speaking, I would like to have a Mercedes of course! (He laughs). Otherwise a Lamborghini C65 bi-turbo V12 black series IMG

Who will have the most beautiful wife?
Marcus: We’ll both have a beautiful wife.

Who has the best fashion sense?
Sam: Today, I win.

Who is the shyest?
Sam: Neither of us. Marcus is crazy and I am fairly crazy as well! It feels like Marcus lives on a different planet sometimes.

Do you have any favourite sportsman or sportswoman?
Sam: Anything Swedish for Marcus I guess!
Marcus: Yes! (He laughs) I think I like Valentino Rossi. I like bike riders in general I think they are very impressive. I like Robin Soderling as well.
Sam: For me, it’s Lance Armstrong, Mohamed Ali, Usain Bolt, Michael Schumacher. They are inspirational.

Who tells the most jokes?
Marcus: I would say Sam would properly win, but I would not be far behind.

You seem to be getting along together. How did the incident in Monaco happen?
Sam: The first incident could have happened to anybody. It was very unfortunate that it was me. The second one, you know what I did at the start. You know what happened there. I’m trying to get back to the pack. All that day, I believe that I was the quickest driver there and I was trying to get back up to eighth and I thought I saw a gap that wasn’t there and what happened, happened. But we’ve put that way behind us. It was actually quite easy.
Marcus: It’s never easy, but in the heat of the moment, you try your best...
Sam: When we came back to the paddock, that was not fun!
(Both laugh)
Marcus: No but racing drivers always want to win and with your teammate you should be careful. We should have done that in Monaco. We’ve learned our lesson.
Sam: We both apologised to each other.
Marcus: We most apologised to the team to be honest. They give us a good car every time and Sam and I screwed it up together.
Sam: I could have won that race by a long way I think.
Marcus: It’s only Monaco you know! (He laughs)
Sam: Rub it in! Rub it in!

Who is the wildest on and off the rack?
Marcus: Sam is always on the rev limiter off the track I would say. I’m more relaxed.
Sam: When I wake up, I’m fully awake you know!
Marcus: I think on the track, we are both wild.
Sam: I would say more that we both like to race. We both like to overtake. But I would not put us in the category of wild. There are people out there that are wild, but they are not in our team...

Marcus, you invite Sam for dinner, what would you cook?
Marcus: Swedish meatballs from Ikea of course!
Sam: Is that what you would do for me?
Marcus: I would cook fish also. I’m sure Sam would love it!
Sam: Yuck! (He laughs). I would cook you some spaghetti Bolognese, with a couple of candles...
Marcus: Sounds lovely!
(Both laugh)

Who has the most contacts in their phone?
Marcus: 309
Sam: What? No way!
Marcus: You’re going to beat me.
Sam: The person who beats everybody is Karun Chandhok anyway!

What did you know about your teammate before this season?
Luiz: Nothing much. He’s Italian and I had a few conversations with him...
Davide: Not so much. He’s Brazilian.
(Both laugh)
Davide: He was friends with my old teammate Valerio. I knew he was a good guy because I saw him and his family in the paddock, but that’s it.
Luiz: Davide is a good guy.

What are each other’s greatest strengths?
Luiz: Davide is good at bouncing back and he pushes the team a lot which is very good and important.
Davide: I think one of his best strength is that he is consistent during the race.

Any weaknesses?
Davide: I don’t know. Sometimes, he loses his way during a race weekend. For instance in Monaco it was very good for me, it’s a shame Luiz could not get good results as well. The beginning of a race weekend is always the most critical part and it’s a shame he lost some chances in Monte Carlo where everything went wrong for him from the start.
Luiz: Maybe sometime, Davide gets very angry... (Laughs) He can get very loud! He curses a lot...
(Both laugh)

Who gets to the circuit the latest?
Luiz: Oh Davide. Easy!
Davide: It’s true...

Who is the most successful with the ladies?
Luiz: We cannot say that...
Davide: I think Luiz is better than me because at the moment I am single and he has a girlfriend!
Luiz: Brazilian and Italian women are beautiful. We are very lucky.

Are you superstitious?
Luiz: Not so much. I have to get in the car from the right. I’ve done this since go-kart.
Davide: If there is something that I do and I get good results during the race, then I repeat it, like using one helmet for the feature race and using a second helmet for the sprint race... Or using the same overall for race 1 and a second overall for race 2. When the results are not good like in Silverstone, the next race, I changed everything. (Laughs)
Luiz: Even the colour of the car!
(Both laugh)

Who will have the best road car in ten years time?
Luiz: This is too difficult to know...
Davide: I have a red Fiat Punto now so I don’t think it will be difficult for me to have a better car than this one in ten years! But I think Luiz will have a better one. We will see.
Luiz: We will tell you in ten years.

Who will have the most beautiful wife in ten years time?
Davide: Well, seeing how I don’t have anyone now, I hope that the one I choose to become my wife will be incredible. I hope I will regain all the positions that I lost in the past and get extra points for being single now and have a very beautiful woman in ten years! I would really appreciate it Luiz if you let me this chance!
(Both laugh)

Who has the best fashion sense?
Luiz: Maybe Luca Filippi! (He laughs)
Davide: I don’t like fashion so much.

Who is the shyest?
Luiz: I don’t know...
Davide: We are normal. I don’t like talking to the other drivers because we have to beat them on the track. I don’t have many friends in the racing world. But otherwise I make friends easily outside the track.
Luiz: Same for me.

Who is your favourite sportsman or sportswoman?
Luiz: I like Roger Federer a lot and Lance Armstrong.
Davide: I am a sports fan. I follow it a lot. I like the underdogs. In Italy, when everyone is pushing for Rossi, I like Stoner. But now that he is becoming the best, I might change for next season. In Formula One now, my favourite is Hamilton and I am really sorry that he’s not racing for Ferrari... If he was joining the team, it would be really good. Hamilton is more aggressive than Alonso. Maybe Alonso is a bit better in the end, but Hamilton makes racing interesting.
Luiz: I prefer Alonso.

Who tells the most jokes?
Luiz: Humphrey (Corbett) I think! I don’t tell a lot of jokes.
Davide: We leave it to the team to do the jokes.

Luiz, if you were to invite Davide for dinner what would you cook? Same question for Davide.
Luiz: He likes pizza. So I will probably go and buy one. I’ll put it in the microwave and pretend I did it myself. (Laughs)
Davide: I would serve you biscuits, ice creams, ...
(Both laugh)
Davide: I’ll serve you all the things that I like so that I will enjoy the dinner.

Who has the most contacts in their phone?
Davide: Seeing how my phone is ancient and does not even have a camera, I doubt it has more contacts than in Luiz’ phone! I don’t like phones so much... Same about computers!
Luiz: You’re not even a competitor!
(Both laugh)

What did you know about your teammate before this season?
Max: He won British F3 with Carlin. He did obviously GP2 and Macao in GT3. Apart from that, I knew was Portuguese obviously.
(Both laugh).
Alvaro: I knew that Max had one year of GP2 last season with ocean which is a team I know well. He did three years of Formula 3 in England. He is very young and he already is right up there.

What are each other’s strengths?
Alvaro: I haven’t seen much so far, but I can see that Max is improving very fast and I think he is very good in putting a lap together and that’s what he’s been showing in the last few races.
Max: It shocked me as well!
(Both laugh)
Max: Alvaro has always been quick wherever he’s been. When he joined the team I knew I’d have to up my game. He’s a great teammate. I can look at the data and see where he’s quicker and learn from him.

What are each other’s weaknesses?
Max: He has none. He is fluent in English with a good accent as well! Ok, I have one: he’s got a horrid helmet!
(Both laugh)
Alvaro: As I said, I am new to the team, but we are getting along fine. We’re working well together developing the car.

Who gets to the track the latest?
Alvaro: I’ve been improving! The team manager calls me all the time making sure I’m on time.
Max: You did drive Colin (Hayle) crazy in Valencia, having him running around and chasing you down. (Both laugh) I’d left the hotel and Alvaro would still be there looking at his iPod! If I get up late, I feel like I’m wasting the day. In Silverstone, I sleep near the track and the Silverstone Radio wakes you up at 6am...Can't be late!

Who is the wildest one on the track and off the track?
Max: I have no clue...
Alvaro: Me neither.
Max: I could teach you golf if you want.
Alvaro: Ok, but I prefer more active sports you know.
Max: There you go, Alvaro is wilder off the track then!

Who is the most successful with ladies?
Alvaro: Probably Max.
Max: I’ve been with my girlfriend for two years and a half now.
Alvaro: I break that record. It’s been ten years for me.
Max: Really? Wow...

Are you superstitious?
Max: Yes and I am getting worse as well! My girlfriend put a twitter the other days saying “Come to see Max roll it” or something like that. I told her it was bad luck and had her delete the tweet. But then I felt like I was tempting fate by asking her to take it down...
Alvaro: I’m a little bit, but not that much.
Max: I have OCD. Everything has to be in place. Otherwise I don’t like it (Laughs). I have to get in the same side of the car for the whole race weekend. I like touching my head before the race, like touching wood. My team asks me if I have an itch or something! I hate people touching my head. It really annoys me because with the helmet on it’s really loud.

Who will have the best car in ten years time?
Max: He will probably get a McLaren.
Alvaro: I wish. I’m not sure about that! My contract is still brand new... Maybe one day. It would be nice.
Max: I would like a quick car, but practical at the same time.
Alvaro: A powerful diesel?
Max: I’ll think about it and will let you know.

Who will have the most beautiful wife in ten years?
Alvaro: My girlfriend is very beautiful.
Max: He is the Portuguese James Bond. He gets all the beautiful girls.
Alvaro: I only get one girl! Don’t spread rumours!
(Both laughs)

What word would you use to describe your teammate?
Max: I’ve been thinking about this before the interview. Fabio was quickest last year to call me “gay” (laughs).
Alvaro: I have an easy one “Young”
Max: Ok, then “Old” for you!
Alvaro: I’m not that old, come on! I’m 26.

Who has the best fashion sense?
Max: I have a pair of trainers this weekend, so probably Alvaro.
Alvaro: We both wear team kits and jeans. I don’t really care about fashion.
Max: Same. I’m getting more into it though through my sponsor DigDeep. I used to be very much into brands.

Who is the shyest one?
Max: We are pretty similar I think...
Alvaro: We’re pretty laid back.

Who is your favortie sportsman or sportswoman?
Alvaro: You’re going to say Tiger Woods?
Max:... No. Someone younger. Rory McIlroy.
Alvaro: I was a big fan of Senna at the time. Now I don’t really have a favourite. I like Mourinho.

Who tells the most jokes?
Alvaro: Max.
Max: It’s true, I do. I make up names, then I make labels and stick them everywhere for example. Or I glue plastic cups together and stick them on my engineer’s headsets. He has no clue! We used to have a competition also in the team to bring the most random thing on the grid. One time they brought some golf clubs onto the grid. It was a great competition!

If you’re going to invite Alvaro, what would you cook?
Max: I can cook. I’d make some good chicken pie.
Alvaro: A frozen one?
Max: No. A real one, from scratch.
Alvaro: I’d cook some nice Portuguese dish.
Max: I’d cook you an English roast.

Who has the most contact in their phones?
Alvaro: I don’t have many now...
Max: How about on twitter?
Alvaro: I have great fans. They’re really committed!
Max: How many contacts do you have in your phone?
Alvaro: Not a lot.
Max: I have 300.
Alvaro: I have a little bit over 400.

What did you know about your teammate before this season?
Jules: I knew him from Formula 3 in 2009. So it was not really new for me to be with him. I know he is very quick and a bit younger than me, but I knew it would be a bit tough for me to have him in the same team this year.
Esteban: We know each other since 2009. He has more experience and for me it is a pleasure to be his teammate because it’s good to have him as a reference because he is quick. I hope I can learn a lot from him.

What are each other’s strong points?
Jules: On track he is very quick especially in the slow corners. I can learn a lot from him. It helps me to improve even if it’s his first season, he is a good reference.
Esteban: Jules is very quick on one lap. Basically, it is a very important point with the Pirelli tyres. Plus, Jules is very consistent. He has a good pace.

Any weaknesses?
Jules: It’s difficult to say you know... I don’t know.
Esteban: My experience probably.
Jules: Yes, probably.
Esteban: Sometimes, Jules may be pushing a bit too much.
(Both laugh)

Who is always the last one to get to the track?
Esteban: Me.
Jules: Yes, I win that one easily.
(Both laugh)
Jules: This morning, we said we would leave at 9:30 and at 9:50 I was still waiting for him.
Esteban: I like to take my time...

Who is the wildest one on and off the track?
Esteban: I have to say... No Jules, you have to say it yourself!
Jules: Do you mean I am the wildest?
(Both laugh)
Jules: Okay, maybe me...
Esteban: I am the wildest off the track, but I cannot tell you why!

Who is the most successful with the ladies?
Jules: I think it’s me.
Esteban: Yes, I think it’s Jules... Anyway, we don’t know because I have a girlfriend and he doesn’t.
Jules: It’s been a tough year for me (Laughs)!

Are you superstitious?
Jules: Yes. I always use the same underwear during a meeting.
Esteban: Really?!
Jules: Yeah, it’s over there, you can see it. It’s the blue thing. But they don’t seem to be working that well this weekend. I should change them (Laughs)! I started doing that in Formula 3. It seemed to be working pretty well back them. This year, not so much!
(Both laugh)
Esteban: I don’t have that type of superstition.

Who will have the best car in ten years time?
Jules: It depends on our career of course...

Who will have the most beautiful wife in ten years time?
(After the longest pause ever...)
Jules:... Me?
(Both laugh)
Esteban: For me, whoever I marry will always be beautiful.

What word would you use to describe your teammate?
Esteban: Aggressive, but in a good way.
Jules: Calm. He looks calm.

Who has the best fashion sense?
Jules: It’s difficult to say.
Esteban: We don’t really see each other outside the track.
Jules: I have to wear Puma stuff all the time... (Pause) And they are really, really great stuffs I should add! (Laughs)
Esteban: I like wearing nice clothes, but I don’t like shopping. Yes, I need a sponsor!

Who is the shyest?
Jules: Maybe me.
Esteban: Why?
Jules: When I meet people for the first time, I’m not comfortable.
Esteban: I’m a little bit, but not too bad.

Who is your favourite sportsman?
Jules: Schumacher. He is the best. That’s it.
Esteban: For me, it’s hard to say. I think it’s Robert Kubica.

Who tells the most jokes?
(Esteban’s engineer Gaetan Jego enters the room)
Jules: Gaetan is the best to answer.
Gaetan: I probably tell the lamest jokes. Jules makes a lot of practical jokes to our truckie.
Esteban: We cannot mention these jokes though.
Jules: It’s a secret!
Esteban: To be honest, they always to the jokes in French.
Jules: Yes, it’s true that for me it’s a lot easier. It’s a French team.

Jules, if you were to invite Esteban for dinner, what would you cook?
Jules: Fajitas! You like then?
Esteban: Yes.
Jules: Then I would do that? I improved my cooking skills from last year (Laughs). I’d buy Old el paso and voila!
Esteban: I would cook you very difficult pasta (Laughs). Honestly when I go to a restaurant and I see snails I think about the French. So if you cook fajitas to me, I will cook snails for you.
Jules: No! I would not eat that!
(Both Laugh)

Who has the most contacts in their phone?
Jules: I have more girls so... (Laughs)
Esteban: 296. We can compare the BBM?
Jules: I don’t know... BBM, I have 87
Esteban: 151. I win!

The first thing we do when we arrive at the track is to open the truck, and then put out the materials for the pitstop training: all the boys travel together, and we get in quite early. Denis (Thomas, fellow truckie) and me ensure that the bottles are loaded with air and then put out the guns, the hoses and tyres, rear and front jack and the tray. We do the pitstop training, all the team, and after that I load the bottles again for the race.

And then we prepare the tyres: we get the tyres in parc ferme, at 11.00 this morning. We work closely with the engineers to make the good pressure, the best one possible depending on the temperature and the conditions, and this will take a good part of the morning. After this we eat, change clothes, and prepare the fuel for the car: for me on car 8 with Vietoris and my teammate Dennis on car 7 with Clos. It's the same procedure for each race, but it's not the same volume!

We speak again with the engineers, and they take the decision and we follow their instruction. I don't know exactly how much we talk with the engineers, but it’s a lot: there is constant communication with the engineers, as they are ones who decide everything about the car, how much pressure for the tyres, the fuel loads and these things. It's not a complete day, but we do talk very much!

A lot of people think a truckie drives the truck to the circuit and then sits down for 3 days: it is true that there is this kind of truckie too, working for some teams just to drive the truck here and back again, but in my case no! We help the mechanics a lot, in case of a crash or something: we are able to work on the car too (Arnaud used to be a mechanic before becoming a truckie), so we are always ready to help the boys.

And then we load up the quad bike to be ready for the race, and I drive it. I don’t know why I drive it: perhaps it’s because I am the biggest! (laughs) In the race to the pitlane, maybe I can push the others out of the way! But I have always driven the quad: maybe it is just that I have been here the longest.

In the pitlane we prepare everything: air bottles, tyres, hoses, fuel if we need it, as in qualifying and in free practice. I make sure that everything will be ready to go well, and then load again the tyres and take them to the grid and unload everything, so everything is prepared. And then I check the pressures again!

When the race starts we get ready for the pitstop: I am on the rear jack. When we are back from the grid we need to prepare ourselves: with the radio, because we have headsets which are changed for the earplug and helmet, and then ensure everything is ready for the pitstop. And then we wait.

I don’t really worry about the pitstop: in the beginning, maybe the first years, maybe you are, well ... it's impressive, no? But it becomes normal: not a lot of pressure, is what I want to say. Today they crashed into a mechanic at Rapax: they broke a hose, I think maybe they hit the guy in his leg? It was the guy on the front left, maybe 5 metres away, and I didn't see it! I didn’t even know until Thomas (Couyotopoulo, team manager) told me! The thing is to be focused on the moment…

After the race I drive back and change the overalls, and we start to wash the tyres from the race while we wait for the car from parc ferme. When the car arrives we look at the fuel, wash the body work, work with the pressures again, help the mechanics if they need it, and do the tyre measurements for the wear of the tyres, too. Then we clean everything, the rims and everything, and ask if there is anything else we can help to do. And then maybe we even have something to eat! (laughs)

We are on the road all the time, just driving or at the race! We don't go back to the factory all the time, though: for example in this case we have Germany in 2 weeks, so we check the car here (in Silverstone) and then go straight to Germany. After this we discuss the travel with the team manager: we more or less check the calendar at the beginning of the season and we can plan what we will do, where we will travel with the truck so everything is in the right place at the right time.

Just for the travel you need to prepare the truck, reserve the ferries, and book anything else we need for the journey. For my work, for the management of the truck and everything we have to prepare a lot, and also discuss it with the team manager so he knows where we are: we have to manage everything to do with the truck.

And there is no excuse: you have to be there, whatever happens!

But we know all the truckies, and when it is back to back we are all driving together. Each team has a place in the circuit, an order, so we are not alone. I do enjoy it, yes, but it is my work! I can't complain ... you need to like it to do it, and it's the same for the mechanics. Each person who works here must like it. You like it too!

What did you know about your teammate?
Charles: Nothing special. I knew him a bit from World Series but we were not in the same team so I did not know a lot.
Giedo: I knew more about him. When I was doing 3.5L he was in 2.0L. He was an up-coming talent. Of course we raced together in 3.5L and now we are teammates. He’s always been fast in every category. And now he is a fast teammate.

What are each other’s greatest strengths?
Giedo: I think Charles works very hard. He has a really good race pace and he is good at saving his rear tyres.
Charles: For me, Giedo is very consistent and has a lot of experience so he is able tp be very fast everywhere and to understand quickly where the problems are.

What are each other’s weaknesses?
Charles: I don’t know. This year, at the moment, he does not have a lot.
Giedo: I think he is quick and I have not seen his weaknesses yet. Maybe at the start...
Charles: True. Especially at the beginning of this season (Laughs)

Who gets to the circuit last?
Giedo: Charles!
Charles: I’m younger, I need to sleep more (Laughs)

Who is the wildest one on and off the track?
Giedo: I think on the track, it is hard to say. This season, I am being reasonable. So is Charles, Maybe off the track, me
Charles: I don’t know. We have not gone out together yet... Let’s see!

Who is the most successful with the ladies?
Giedo: I have been with my girlfriend for eight years now. You?
Charles: Two years
Giedo: There. We are very serious guys.
Charles: Very!

Are you superstitious?
Charles: No.
Giedo: Jump into the car from the left side. Always. I used to have more when I was younger. I was wearing a pink underwear. In 2008, I had twenty pairs of pink underwear. It stopped working, so now I just wear normal underwear.

Who will have the best road car in ten years time?
Charles: I don’t know...
Giedo: I don’t care about road cars that much
Charles: We both like good cars and racing cars
Giedo: I hope to still be in F1 in ten years and drive a good car there. It would be nice if it was a red car!

Who will have the most beautiful wife?
Giedo: Me!
Charles: I’m not so sure about this... (Laughs)

Who has the best fashion sense?
Giedo: Both. We have the same shoes for example.
Charles: We found out that we were buying the same clothes. We do not shop together though, but in Valencia when we go to work with the team, we realised we bought the same stuffs.

How would you describe your teammate?
Charles: Funny because he makes a lot of jokes.
Giedo: Serious and fast.

Who is the shyest?
Giedo: Charles.
Charles: Yes but I discovered this year that Dutchmen are much more opened than Frenchmen. So I’m the shyest. Especially at the beginning.

Who is your favourite sportsman or sportswoman?
Giedo: I used to like Armstrong. The way he overcame. But I’m interesting in football. I like Ajax.
Charles: A woman in ski, I don’t remember her name. She’s from Switzerland and just beat Lindsay Vonn. She is very young – 18 or 19 years old. It was the first world cup I saw. She beat all the top athletes. It was nice to see.

Who tells the most jokes?
Giedo: I do. I love jokes. This week for example we had a technical meeting with Chris Murphy who was late. He has a funny way of seating behind the computer with his glasses on. I imitated him. Everybody laughed.

What would you cook to each other if you invited your teammate for dinner?
Giedo: I can’t cook. My girlfriend would have to do it. She is a very good cook and likes it.
Charles: I will order some Japanese food (Laughs)

Who has the most contacts in their phone?
Charles: I don’t have that many contacts.
Giedo: I have 367
Charles: I don’t have my phone with me, but you definitely beat me!

What did you know about your teammate?
Jolyon: I heard that he was pretty quick. He did GP2 last year and had a massive crash.
Josef: Oh you heard about that one? (Laughs)
Jolyon: You can find it on YouTube! I know he raced in Formula Master before when I was in Formula 2. We raced on the same weekends so I heard the name.
Josef: Like Jolyon said, I knew him from when he was racing in Formula 2. I was looking forward to having him as my teammate. He is a cool guy. We have a good relationship.

What are each other’s greatest strengths?
Jolyon: The thing with Josef is that I always think I’ve done a good lap and sometimes I’ll be ahead of him in practice. And then I come in qualifying I’m P8 or P7 and every time he is ahead.
Josef: It’s good for both. We can really learn from each other. In many corners, Jolyon is better than me. It’s his first year and it is really tough in GP2. It’s hard to find the braking points notably. You don’t understand what you are doing wrong.
Jolyon: We drive quite differently. So that’s good as well. We can improve quite well. Looking at each other’s data cam sometimes change the way I drive
Josef: I’m still improving and developing as well.

What are each other’s weaknesses?
Josef: He’s superman (laughs)
Jolyon: My weakness is to hit my front wing at the moment (Laughs)

Who gets to the circuit last?
Jolyon: I am always late. I’m disorganised (Laughs). Mornings are not my thing...

Who is the wildest one on the track and the wildest one off the track?
Josef: I am not wild...
Jolyon: On the track... I don’t know...
Josef: If you consider my accident from last year, I’m really wild (laughs). Off the track, I am still going to university. I can’t be too wild.
Jolyon: Same for me. I’m studying management in Nottingham. It’s quite part time at the moment though because I’m focusing on racing and training.

Who is the most successful with the ladies?
Josef: We have both girlfriends so we are both successful!

Are you superstitious
Josef: I’m always getting in the car from the right hand side.
Jolyon: I’m always getting from the left hand side. That’s the only thing... I don’t know why. I’ve always done that. I have a power-balance bracelet. I started doing really well last year when I started wearing it. Obviously, it doesn’t work here, but I keep it anyway (Laughs).

Who will have the best road car in ten years time?
Josef: I will (Laughs).
Jolyon: We’ll see.

Who will have the most beautiful wife?
Josef: I will have the best wife!

Who would you describe your teammate?
Jolyon: Relaxed.
Josef: I can say the same...

Who has the best fashion sense?
Jolyon: It’s probably me.

Who is the shyest?
Jolyon: Probably me... again!

Who is your favourite sportsman or sportswoman?
Josef: Senna. Everyone knows why. The way he raced... Everything about it. I want to look at the movie with my girlfriend.
Jolyon: Probably someone like Roger Federer. He is amazing.

Who tells the most jokes?

Josef: Me! I make practical jokes all the time... Arden are good with that!
Jolyon: It’s a great team to be racing with.

What would you cook to each other if you invited your teammate for dinner?
Josef: I would cook exactly the same for Jolyon that I said I would for Marcus (Laughs). It was some Italian cuisine. Czech food is unhealthy! It’s really good, but you can only have it once in a year and it is difficult to cook.
Jolyon: Because of my limited cooking ability, I would have to cook something basic! Like a steak...

Who has the most contacts in their phone?
Josef: 469
Jolyon: 206

On race day I get ready and then come to the track with one of the drivers: generally, although sometimes they come in a bit later! (laughs) I come in, check my emails, and promote that it's race day on Facebook and Twitter: one of our aims has been to try and interact with fans and followers on a real, personal level, and I think that's something that's been quite nice about having the link with Team Lotus, and to be able to draw from that.

Twitter in particular was new to me: I've never used it before this job! It’s quite new for a lot of people here, but it does help to bring our fans close to the team, and that’s one of the reasons why we do it, really: some of the other teams do it too, obviously, but not to the same extent.

When I first started in racing I’d never worked here before, so I always saw it from an outsider’s perspective, and so to see all the things that happen here was like I was doing it from an outsider's view. People pay a lot of money to come to the track and see all this, so if we can bring a little bit of that to people who don't get to the races then it's all good, really. And that’s why we use social media so much: to give everyone the same view that I enjoy!

And I think people like looking at photos: I love taking photos, I take thousands of them! (laughs) I really enjoy that, and I think people like to see photos because then they feel like they're really there with you. With Facebook and Twitter you can be a bit more jovial too, I think: maybe some photos of Luiz being silly in the factory, or Davide, and I think that side of things is quite nice, really.

GP2 is a bit more friendly: that's what a lot of people have seen if they have come from watching F1, say, to GP2, and for me that's what's good about GP2. We always talk about the GP2 family, and it is much more like that: it's not so cut throat, and I think it's a lot nicer environment to work in.

At the track I look after the drivers if there's any media commitments: I collar them and herd them up! Luiz is very good with things like that: he does a lot of these things personally in Brazil for his own website: he does podcasts and things like that. Davide is a little more reluctant, but once he's there then you can't shut him up! (laughs)

Italians are very patriotic, they are keen and there are a lot of fans, so we do get a lot of requests through for Davide. Luiz has a lot of connections himself, so a lot of his stuff goes directly to him: he has a good website and he's well established, so that works that way. And it's all in Portuguese, so I can’t always help! (laughs) And then obviously there are the press releases to write, and I have to get quotes and send them out: we benefit from having the direct link with Team Lotus because we have all their contacts to send them out to, which is great.

Back at the factory we are based in the same address as Team Lotus: although we have a separate GP2 workshop over the road, we share a couple of offices with engineers and the race team. Both our drivers are part of the F1 team too, so the link runs deep. This was one of the aims, to have a GP2 team where young drivers can work closely with both teams and, with a little luck and lots of talent, to get promoted over time to the F1 team.

It’s also good for everyone in the team to be this close to Team Lotus: we always keep the communication lines open, in engineering and that side, but especially from my point of view with all the travel arrangements I’ve got to organise! I also work closely with the Team Lotus Marketing department too: they are leading the field with all their online social networking, so I take a lot of inspiration from them.

As well as our Twitter and Facebook pages we also have a new YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/GP2TeamAirAsia?feature=mhsn) where we post driver diaries and little interviews, and we will do workshop tours and things like that. We always have a GP2 piece in the Team Lotus Notes online magazine too, and we tweet to each other and retweet messages a lot too, to show our family relationship and just to keep things fun.

At the track we are obviously very independent from the F1 team, with our own schedules and so on, but we are based outside their garage whenever we run on track. And I think it’s nice to see how involved everyone in the F1 team gets during our races -they love watching on the screens, and they get really excited! Our Team Principal (and Team Lotus CEO) Riad Asmat takes time to get involved in our GP2 Team Principal meetings, and comes to the grid and always watches the races.

Tony Fernandes is often at the Grand Prix’s too, and is always very encouraging and supportive, as well as (Team Lotus technical director) Mike Gascoyne. And we gave them a lot to cheer about this weekend (in Valencia), with both drivers on the podium! We get so much support from the Team Lotus guys, and I know everyone in Team AirAsia is happy to be able to show them what we can do.

We launched our new connection with Caterham this weekend (the team is now known as Caterham Team AirAsia), and with the next race in Silverstone being our home race this connection will only become bigger: we will have VIP guests from Caterham at Silverstone, we are really proud of this new association, and that we can introduce them to the world of GP2.

We are a new team, but currently we’re second in the Teams Championship: that’s an amazing feat, and a bit more than we expected, to be honest! (laughs) But we’re just continuing to work hard and keep going. I hope that all the GP2 fans are enjoying our social media sites, and feel that we’re helping them to get closer to the action: if they do, then it’s all worth it.