There's so much more power, so you're short-shifting all the way down into fifth, sixth, seventh before you can get the full throttle. But great fun otherwise.

I don't know if you've ever been skiing, but if you go to the slope you'll see all these kids fearlessly zooming by. It's only when we get older that fear creeps in. But for me, it just never has. And when it comes to racing, it's always about who is willing to go further, who is willing to take that extra step. I'm willing to take any amount of pain to win. I'm hungry like you.

I'm constantly watching my weight for my job, and I've trained so hard this year to be ready for this season-more rigorously than ever - but people who tune in to Formula One have no comprehension of what we have to do to be fit. It's so physical. This year, the car is way faster than when you came to the race. And the physicality has gone up quite a lot, at least 20 to 30 percent. People don't see that. They don't see us as athletes. They just see us driving.

I was born to race and to win.

In racing there are always things you can learn, every single day. There is always space for improvement, and I think that applies to everything in life.

Normally, racing drivers come from a long line of previous successful sports people.

Michael [Schumacher] was a phenomenal driver but for me, Ayrton Senna was the greatest ever. If I could get one world championship that would be great; if I could win three, the same number as Ayrton did, that would be a dream. But I want to be the best driver there has ever been.