People forget sometimes that you haven't been a front runner for long, that you haven't done that many grands prix, but you led the last race in Valencia for a period. How exciting was that and what did you learn?
It's nice to be able to fight for the front with all the big guys. We have a car which is very competitive, and the factory is doing a fantastic job. It's good to be here, good to be able to get a lot of experience by fighting with the big teams and the top drivers and hopefully at the next one we get a little bit more luck and I can get to first place.
Your first period in F1 did not go too well and only a few drivers actually get a second chance. Looking back, was it a mistake to come into Formula One at that time and take the risk of failing or did it help you this second time around?
Let's turn it a different way: can you say no when you get a chance in Formula One? The answer is no, so it was not a mistake. It was as it was and it was a good experience being with Fernando in the team. It taught me a lot and all the experience I got in 2009 is now in my pocket. I think then it was a little bit of a difficult time, but I'm back today, very happy to be and very proud to be part of Lotus and everything I've learnt is very important today.
In Valencia, you were forced to retire with engine failure. What is the latest update you and the team have received about that from Renault? How does that affect your sense of reliability in the car?
The best person to explain that will be the engineer at Renault Sport F1. We have been trying to analyse what has happened. There are a few ideas on things that have been changed since the last race and hopefully it was a one-off experience that we are not going to have again. But on the other hand, it's the first time that we've had a reliability issue. It was a stupid issue, not a big deal, so it should be sorted out by now, and we shouldn't have any more.
You said that you were fighting with the big guys, with three world champions. How far are you from them, what are you missing and what don't you have to be a winner?
At least one world championship. The more you race, the more you have experience. It's only my first complete season. I'm in a good team, so I'm lucky to have a good car. I'm very pleased to fight at the front but in terms of results, I'm missing at least one world championship.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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