The San Marino Grand Prix at Imola is one of the special circuits on the Formula One calendar.
Rich in history and with a lot of achievement and happenings ? some negative like the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, the narrow escapes of two other greats, Nelson Piquet and Gerhard Berger ? Imola has a special charm, which is palpable.
It is fun, and this year Red Bull has erected a special ?motorhome? for hospitality, which has created a buzz!
Also, Imola is very close to Maranello and Modena, so we can expect the tofisi (Ferrari fans) to turn out in large numbers.
Despite the fact that my teammates and all the other drivers have been here before, I haven?t felt a distinct disadvantage. I have focused a lot to come up to speed with competition.
Friday?s practice was my first competitive feel and I learnt fast, as you are expected to do at this level of the competition. There are seldom any second chances and I know that.
Saturday?s practice gave me a chance to improve my technique and to re-negotiate the circuit. I feel I have adapted quickly and don?t feel that this is my first race here.
There was a break of a few weeks between Bahrain, the last race and Imola. Most of that time was spent testing with the team. All the other teams now have new cars, including Minardi, but we spent a lot of time improving our car and it shows, since we are not far away from the pace of the lead and are ahead of the Minardi?s.
We gathered data on the car and made some improvements.
I also had a chance to go back home to India for a few days, where I had some formalities to complete and since this part of the season is very hectic ? there are 10 races in the next two months around Europe and North America ? it was nice to be home for a bit!
It was then back to the gym with my trainer and coach and preparing for the demanding couple of months ahead.
STILL TO COME...
• April 24: San Marino GP
• May 8: Spanish GP
• May 22: Monaco GP
• May 29: European GP
• June 12: Canadian GP
• June 19: US GP
• July 3: French GP
• July 10: British GP
• July 24: German GP
• July 31: Hungarian GP
• Aug. 21: Turkish GP
• Sept. 4: Italian GP
• Sept. 11: Belgian GP
• Sept. 25: Brazilian GP
• Oct. 9: Japanese GP
• Oct. 16: Chinese GP
