Q&A with Adrian Sutil before Sepang

Unfortunately Australia produced a DNF for you, but the event until that point had been positive. What are your thoughts on the weekend now?

It was obviously disappointing to retire so early on in the race [lap nine]. I started to lose power and under the circumstances retiring the car was really the only thing we could do. It was a bit frustrating as I think it could have been a good race; we were in a good position, I was keeping pace with the leaders and normally in these changeable conditions the car and the team perform well. Until that point the weekend had been quite good. Yet again we got into Q3 and I felt I could even have qualified higher, so that’s very positive. It’s showing that we’re pretty competitive across different tracks and not that far behind the big four so at this point it’s very encouraging.

What are your thoughts looking ahead to Malaysia?

Malaysia is always a good event, very tough physically, but there’s a variety of corners and also some overtaking spots so it’s an event I look forward to. The weather, as we saw last year, always throws up some interesting challenges. This year we don’t have to pray for rain as we have done in the past, we can deal with the conditions whatever they are. I really want to get some points on board in this race, I’ve had two races where I should have scored, so I want to finish the job now.

How have you been preparing for the physical challenges of the Malaysian Grand Prix?

Malaysia is such a tough event with the heat and the humidity. You can lose up to four kilos over the race so fitness and concentration is absolutely key. The night after the Australian Grand Prix I flew straight to Malaysia to acclimatise and I’ve also spent three days in Langkawi training, doing a lot of running, swimming, sea kayaking and so on, really just getting used to exercise in these type of conditions. I feel really good, very relaxed, and confident in the team and the car now so I can’t wait to get back out there.