It’s nice to be back in Europe for summer, as I have just come to France from my home in Sao Paulo where of course it is winter right now. Although I must say the weather here was a bit of a shock. I know we have mild winters in Brazil, compared to here anyway, but to go from the 23 degrees at home to an amazing 36 here in Magny-Cours was a surprise.
I don’t have much to tell you about my time at home as honestly, I didn’t do much, apart from relax with my family and friends and continue with my training programme. Every day I would go and work out in the gym and then go running in a park near the gym. It’s in an area called Ibirapuera and very beautiful. Lots of my fellow drivers like cycling, but I just prefer running and as long as you don’t try and run a long distance like a marathon, it’s not too hard on your joints. Of course, running in the park, I get recognised by people all the time, but I don’t have to stop my training for them as, if they want an autograph, they have to catch me first! Occasionally, a dog might chase me, but that does not bother me, as in my family’s home in the countryside, I have three dogs, or four if you count the one that’s supposed to belong to my girlfriend. They are all Labradors, which are a super breed of dog. Usually, they are very well behaved, but my girlfriend’s one, which is a beautiful chocolate colour, is completely crazy.
What can I tell you about this weekend? As you probably know, Magny-Cours has just about the smoothest track surface of the year and I guess that might make it a bit more comfortable to drive on, but this weekend, the high temperatures mean it is going to be quite a tough Sunday afternoon if it stays like this. It’s also a very safe circuit, with big run-off areas, but this does not mean you drive in a different way, because in Formula 1, you always drive on the limit, whatever the circuit – even Monaco. That’s all for today as I have to rush off for another engineers meeting.