Looking back at the Japanese Grand Prix, in terms of what happened for the championships, the only way I can analyse it is to divide into two: into my weekend personally as a driver and the weekend for me as part of the team. Starting with my weekend, in the end it was a great weekend for me, as on Saturday I took another pole position and from a driving point of view, I think I did everything I could to the best of my ability. Of course, I was not happy with the final result, because I did have the possibility to win the race, but I missed the chance through no fault of my own, but because of something unforeseen like a puncture.
Finishing the race with that disappointment and then seeing what happened to your team-mate, it was really a frustrating weekend. So, to sum up, I was happy with my driving in every session on the track including the race but cannot be happy with the final result.
It was definitely a very frustrating weekend for the team and as you may know, I am not a fake guy, I am really part of this team. So if the team is happy, then I am happy and if the team is unhappy then neither am I and so, I was not at all happy about what happened to Michael. Japan could have been a fantastic weekend for us.
I drove past Michael’s car at the side of the track and I could not believe what I was seeing. It also made me lose a bit of concentration for one or two laps. It was not a nice moment, seeing him parked in the gravel. From the start of the race, I had been working for the team and there was no problem when Michael got past me to go in the lead. From then on I was just trying to make sure I stayed behind him. But that’s life. After the race, I told Michael that even if this result meant he could not win this year’s title it was not so bad. He still has seven titles! I said, ‘Michael, can you imagine if you had been in this position and you had not yet won a single championship title? At least you have seven in your pocket!’
After Japan, I came straight home to Brazil. I am in Sao Paulo, not doing very much apart from training and getting ready for my home race. The race weekend will start earlier than usual for me, as from this Monday onwards, I have plenty of sponsor and media events to attend. It’s going to be a busy week, but that’s the way it is. I am ready to deal with all the attention and concentrate on doing my very best for my fans, but first and foremost for my team.