Suzuka promises to be an intense ride

So, this weekend I get my first taste of the Japanese Grand Prix and driving at the iconic Suzuka circuit. I’ve been looking forward to this one in quite a big way.

Coming from Singapore, Suzuka is going to be a completely different challenge. It’s a real drivers track and it’s obviously very fast and flowing – with not a lot of margin for error.

You can often get a pretty accurate impression of a track from watching a race on TV but Suzuka has shown a couple of surprises. Walking the circuit on Thursday, it’s actually much narrower in real life and there’s a lot more banking in the corners than you realise.

So I think it’s going to be quite an intense ride and it looks like a very enjoyable track to drive.

But at the same time, I think the weekend could also be tricky. It’s probably going to be pretty windy because the track is so exposed, and there are a lot of long corners which won’t necessarily suit our car. I don’t think it’s going to be as tough as Singapore, but the reality is we’re still in the slowest car and that brings challenges.

Regardless of that, I’m still looking forward to getting my first experience of racing in Japan and to experience the local fans in full force.

They are different kind of passionate. They have their own unique way of kind of enjoying and celebrating the race, and it’s definitely going to be cool to see that on Saturday and Sunday.