by Matt Youson on Mar 25, 2011G’day Seb, happy to be back in the paddock?
Yeah. It’s good to see a lot of faces again. Obviously once the winter starts lose connection to some of the people and it’s good to be back. Over the years – and I haven’t been here for a really long time like Michael or Rubens – but still, you know people from other teams and have friendships and it’s good to reconnect with everyone.
Is it different walking in to Albert Park as the F1 World Champion?
To me it’s not a big difference. It’s a very good feeling and it’s something that no one can take away from me, and that feels good. And I think no matter when you look back it will always feel good. But naturally we are built to look forward, so looking backwards isn’t natural, particularly in sports; I think you always tend to look forward to the next race, the next game, the next match.
Surely something must have changed?
Nah, not really! I mean as you know I have a new contract but as for everything else, no. I don’t get preferential treatment in restaurants or anything. Though walking down the streets – not so much here – but back home you get recognised more often but, y’know, it just shows you how many people followed what you did and that makes it special, and makes you very proud. It puts a smile on my face.
Did winning the world championship make signing the new contract an easier decision to take?
Not really; I mean obviously it isn’t something that you decide to sign in one day – at least I didn’t – and it’s not like it’s a one-line contract that you just sign or you don’t; there’s a few pages there to read. I signed because I feel very comfortable with the team and there’s nothing really that I would like to change.
I think we have a common target, we achieved a lot together in the past and we’re all keen on getting that feeling again and racing at the top against the best teams and the best guys out there and seeing that we are competitive. My number one priority is to win races and race at the top of the field. I love driving, don’t get me wrong, but I love to compete and I’m very confident I can do that in the team I’m in now and will be with in the future. That’s why I decided to stay a bit longer.
Looking at this race, Melbourne hasn’t been very kind to you in the past…
I liked the race last year, and I like coming here. As a German, in our country it takes a long time before someone calls you friend, here the whole country is calling me ‘mate’, and it’s nice! And usually we have great weather, though not at the moment, and the track is one I really, really like, and they have a nice trophy. It used to have a kangaroo on it, and I hope it still does because it’s the sort of thing you’re only going to get here.
There’s the serious side of the sport like the racing and the competition and I love that, but I also love racing for the little things like a trophy that’s a little bit different to the ones you get elsewhere. That’s something too.
In terms of the title defence, do you need to come out and dominate from the start?
I think anybody wants to start as well as he can. I think the situation this year is a bit tricky because you really don’t know how competitive everyone is. We’re happy with the work we did in the winter and the car has been working reliably since the first test onwards – but if that’s enough, we don’t know. We only get to know on Saturday or Sunday in the race. I think the new tyres could make things a bit different, but the strongest package of car and driver will be able to win races, so in that respect nothing has changed.
What sort of feeling do you have for the tyres?
Well, they’re black and they’re round…
Erm?
They are different to last year, the tyre doesn’t last as long as it used to, so it’s a new challenge. The strategies will change, people will stop more often because after between 10 and 20 laps the tyres give up and force you to pit. In Barcelona, where we were testing, that meant something like three or four stops over a race distance. Here it could be a little bit different, but generally it’s impossible to one-stop or two-stop, so it will be three stops or more.
You’ve already mentioned the trophy, would it be disappointing to leave here without it?
Because it’s the start of the season I really can’t answer that question. I really don’t know if we are in a position to win the race. We might know a little bit more after Friday practice, and definitely we’ll know more on Saturday. We have a good feeling but still we need to see how strong we really are. So, I’m quite confident we should be there or there abouts. The masterplan is the same. I don’t have to lie about it, the target is to win, as easy as that. If you come here as champions you want to keep on winning. That’s why we have been working very hard in the winter and y’know, of course we are looking forward to a good weekend, and picking up that trophy with the bloody kangaroo on it…
Source: Red Bull
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