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!
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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! |
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