Anyone driving into Heppenheim on Sunday would have seen the town signposted as “Vettelheim”. It seemed like the whole city was out in force to support this event.
Totally, but that's exactly what you need to make such an event possible. Everything went great, right from the start. When we visited the town to ask them about the homerun, they just said: "Sounds great. We will close off the streets for you.” They were really committed, which was simply awesome.
It was only 7am when you raced through the town, wasn't it?
Yes. We raced the short part from the cathedral to the market square, which nobody knew that we would do and you could clearly see the surprise on the people's faces. The houses in the old city are pretty old and I saw a lot of heads looking out of the small windows. They weren't that alert, but who really is on 7am on a Sunday morning? I really want to apologise to everyone that I might woke up. I'm really sorry! But it was fun.
What was it like racing over a cobble-stone street?
The car was a bit higher than normal, usually we sit way lower – but despite the fact it was a bit bumpy and slippery, I had a great time. I think that's what the Formula One felt like in the beginning, although I'm not sure if they should go back to that.
Did you stick to the speed limit?
Well, normally the speed limit in that part of town is 50kph, which we reached pretty quickly. But you need to be really careful, because the crowd is so close. You mustn't do anything too risky. Safety always comes first.
Did you pass any favourite spots while you were driving by?
Not many but the track ran pretty close to the football stadium, where I tried to play when I was younger. I know the streets very well and the old city is very special. I think the track we chose was perfect. On the one hand, I had enough space to whoop it up and on the other I could always let the car cool down a bit.
How strong is your bond to your home town?
Very strong. I think that everyone feels at home in the place where he or she grew up. As a driver, you are constantly travelling and always on the plane from one spot to an other. Of course, we see amazing and beautiful places, but nothing can replace your home. It's just the most beautiful spot on earth for me.
Give us three words to describe what home means to you…
Security, comfort and safety.
How often do you get to go home?
Unfortunately not as often as I would want to. But when you're on the road through the whole year, it's really hard to find enough time. But when I'm at home, I really am at home and always take my times to got out or play football with my friends.
You had 120,000 new friends coming to Heppenheim to see your home run. What do you think about that?
It was simply amazing. I hope we gave the crowd a good show. I really liked the fact that they weren't just motor sports fans, but also people who usually aren't that into it. And if those people start to get into this sport because they liked what they saw on Sunday, then great.
What made your home run so special?
I think the most special thing was that the crowd were so close. When you see it on TV, everything looks and seems different but at the home run, the spectators were right in the middle of everything.
Of all the spectators, who was the most important to you?
Probably the guy who had to count all the people coming into town! (laughs) To me, everyone was important. You need a really good team to get the car into the city and to get it going. The city's commitment was important, we couldn't have done it without their dedication. Other cities would have given us a hard time, but not Heppenheim. And in the end, every single person who was there on Sunday was important.
Would you like them to come to the German Grand Prix this Sunday?
Definitely! That would be awesome and I would really be happy to have them all there.
This Sunday you're going to race at the Hockenheimring. Are you looking forward to it?
Of course. I know Hockenheim really well and I think that our car has proved it's more than capable of going fast on almost any track. Of course I need to share the support of the crowd with the five other German drivers, but I think it will be a special day for us all. I think the last few years and the return of Michael (Schumacher) has done our sport a lot of good. For now, I just hope there will be a lot of people supporting us all.
Source: Red Bull
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