Live from Barcelona with Alexander Rossi

You’re racing in GP2 this weekend, how’s it going so far?

For the moment, it’s not going so well. We had a small problem yesterday during qualifications because the free practices started in wet conditions, we didn’t have a perfect understanding of the car. So during the qualifications, we had to work on the settings and we will start in 17th place which makes today’s race a bit complicated, but we know our race pace is good, so we will have to be smart and try to finish in the top 8 to have a good result for tomorrow.

Your goal for this afternoon is therefore 8th place?

Yes, 8th or better [he finished 7th but eventually 6th after a penalty was imposed on a driver who finished ahead of him, ed.]. I think we can do it, honestly, considering the pace we had in Bahrain and the good tire management of our car.

For this year, do you have any specific goals, in the championship for example?

Honestly, no, no objective aside from being competitive and winning races. I don’t set any other goal than the championship, but having missed the first race [in Malaysia, editor’s note] and part of the testing, we are slightly behind, but the season is long. We scored points last weekend and if we score again this weekend, everything will be fine.

Is this a learning year before aiming for the title next year?

No, I don’t think so. I’m only working to do a single year in GP2.

Can you tell us about your role as a reserve driver within the Caterham F1 team?

My role is the same. But when I do GP2, Heikki [Kovalainen] is the reserve driver. However, when I’m not racing in GP2, I resume my role like in Montreal, for example, where I would drive during the free practice sessions. I do both programs which is good, it gives me the opportunity to learn not only in F1 but also to continue racing in GP2 which is always positive.

So you attend the briefings with the pilots, the technical briefings?

I attend everything I can depending on the GP2 because that remains the priority. But when I have a little time, I focus on F1 and attend the briefings because there’s a lot to learn from F1, and even if you can only be there for 5 or 10 minutes, it’s worth it.

You will drive in the free practice sessions in Canada, will you also drive at other Grand Prix events where there is no GP2?

Yes, as I mentioned, as soon as I’m not racing in GP2, I take back the position I had earlier in the year [reserve driver, editor’s note] and I will drive during free practice sessions. The first one will be in Montreal, the one I’m looking forward to the most will be Austin. It’s a good thing.

Are you going to run at Silverstone for the young driver tests?

Yes. I don’t know exactly which days yet. It hasn’t been decided, but yes, I will be driving during the young drivers’ tests.

Do you already know what you are going to do next year?

As in any other sport, it depends on the results. I want to be in Formula 1, that’s for sure, but everyone is trying to get there too, so to achieve that, you need to have a good year. You don’t need to win the championship, you need to be consistent, to secure podiums, I think if we can do that, then we will have an opportunity to be in F1.

Giedo van der Garde didn’t win the championship last year and he is in F1 today, do you think you can follow the same path?

Yes, it’s not just about winning. You need to show the team that you can maximize what you have at your disposal. Even if you’re not the best, you need to constantly be on the attack, attacking to be in front, and that’s what Giedo did last year. Sometimes he had the best car, but he always fought for podiums and that’s a very good thing. Maybe the best car won the championship, but Giedo showed he was more than capable of doing the same.

As an American driver, is it more difficult to find sponsors and funding compared to a European driver?

Yes and no. It’s harder because people don’t really know Formula 1 in the United States. But at the same time, Formula 1 wants Americans, it wants to enter the American market and to achieve that, it needs American drivers and for now, I’m the only one. So from that perspective, being something interesting for the Formula 1 teams, I have that, but finding money isn’t easy because people don’t know F1 in the United States, so you have to educate them, explain to them and it’s not simple.

Do you think, in this sense, that the return of F1 to the United States in Austin helps?

Yes, it’s a beautiful place. But there has only been one Grand Prix so far. However, the way things unfolded and the fact that people were very excited was very positive. I think that over time, the fan base will grow and there will be a greater awareness of F1, but as long as there is no American driver, it will be hard to fully reach American fans.

From our special correspondent in Barcelona