Fourth position in Bahrain was your third points-scoring race in a row - is this the beginning of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes turnaround?
"I think our results have been fairly consistent all season, but they're not really an indication of our actual competitiveness. Bahrain really suited our car, and we pushed like crazy in the first two stints, but I don't think we are really as close as we seemed on Sunday. Barcelona next weekend will be much harder for us because we lack the downforce we need for circuits with high-speed corners."
What is it like getting into the car knowing it's not as fast as you'd like?
"You get in the car, you pull out of the garage and you drive it the same, and the onboard footage makes it look easy to drive a Formula 1 car but you can't imagine the forces our bodies are under. So when you have a worse car, you can't brake as late, so instead of braking at the 100-metre board, you're braking at 110, 120. And if you try to brake as late as you used to brake, you'll lock the wheels and flat-spot the tyres. You can't carry the speed into the corners."
Do you think you'll soon have the improvements you need to fight at the front?
"I'm not sure what upgrades we'll have for Barcelona. The engineers have a few things up their sleeves for the future, and they are talking positively about the next few races. Will it be enough? I don't know, but they are talking about new parts for Monaco and Turkey. I'd love to be able to fight at the front in Monaco - it's still my favourite circuit on the whole calendar and I'd love to do well there."
Is it a difficult adjustment to go from having one of the fastest cars to now having to fight to get into the points?
"The harder years are definitely the ones when you learn more, I would say. Through life, I've been able to meet a lot of very special people - both younger and older - and the oldest always say that they are still learning. When I met Nelson Mandela, he told me that he was still learning. That's pretty amazing for a man of his age - he's 90 years old - and what he's achieved. So for me, yeah, I'm learning all the time. I think this year, I'm trying to enjoy the racing and the experience more and get to see my fans more. I'm just going to enjoy it more. It is harder than it's been for the last couple of years, just by having a worse car and not going into a weekend knowing you've got a chance to win; you go in knowing you've got to work hard to get a point. It's definitely a different mindset, but I've had it in my life before so it's nothing new."
Do you still look forward to racing, knowing your car is not as quick as it should be?
"I do! If anything, I enjoy it more now. I've also enjoyed coming from the back - it's always been one of my specialities to be able to overtake people. When I was in my karting days, coming from the back was always the most fun because you always had to slice and dice and outsmart people, outbrake them - and sometimes you'd get overtaken, and you'd have to take them again. That's exciting. And when you're at the front, it's more strategic - it's more to do with how good you are at saving fuel, how consistent you are, how good your pit entry speed. When you're at the back, those things are less important and the stuff you're doing on track becomes more important. It's more racing for me, so I really enjoy it."
How hard has it been to deal with everything happening away from the track?
"It's been the toughest start of the season for a long, long time: the toughest in my life. Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, and we've had some tough times in 2007 and '08, but this year has been really hard on everyone - people in the team, hard on family, hard on your friends, it affects your personal life so much. But, it's in the past - it's happened - and you can't dwell on it, you can try and rise above it, try to learn from it. All these things that happen to you in life, I believe they teach you about growing. You've got to somehow use it to grow and be stronger - and I think I'm getting stronger for having those experiences, I think. My family and friends have helped me keep my feet on the ground, they've helped me to grow and without them, I would not be here. So I continue to do it for them. And a great team - we've got many, many great people in this team and they've given me support and also helped me to work with them and guide them."
What is life like with the team at the moment?
"We're a great team and it's great to be a part of it and to push through and we're working as hard as we can to get back to the top. We've been through a lot this year, and we're making changes everywhere within the team. Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes wants us to improve and grow, and we're doing that on the track and off it. One change I witnessed this weekend was the arrival in Bahrain of our new boss, Richard Lapthorne. He seems like a great guy and is clearly passionate about McLaren. Together with Martin and Norbert, I am confident we can go onto more things with this team in the future. Of course, Ron has been a huge force in my life and we all owe him more than we could ever repay him for building this team. It is an exciting time for him with his new focus, but also for everyone in the team."
What's the biggest thing you've learnt this year so far?
"Team building. I've always known about team building but this year we've really been pulling together to be united. This year, it's been needed much more than ever before. You tend to learn more from the lows in your life but, equally, you always tend to remember the highs, because that's when you're at your happiest. I've got some fantastic fans around the world. After the race in China, when I was disappointed with my performance, I went back to my hotel and read some of the letters that had been given to me during my stay. And then I started reading all the letters, and it took me all night, and it just lifted me - they give me so much energy. So I hope people reading this know that it makes a huge difference to me - I might not get to read everything I get, but the ones I do read really lift me and I really appreciate the support and I really hope they continue to go through the rough and the smooth with me and I hope I continue to make them proud."
How do you want to take things forward both personally and professionally?
"I'm going to keep pushing. Without a doubt, I believe in this team, I believe that we can get back to the top; it's going to be very hard to catch the guys at the top because they have fantastic cars and every time we move ahead, they move ahead too. So we have to work twice as hard as them. But the people back in the factories are working flat-out and I am pushing flat-out and, as a team, we are doing the best job we can. Flat-out as hard as we can go until the end of the season - and then we'll start again for next year in an even better place."
