“Each team has its own philosophy, and you cannot arrive somewhere and say 'okay, now I want to do it like this'. I'm a very open person and I need to learn. The only thing I care about is the result, so if I see something that needs improving I won't stand still.

“Obviously there is a lot to do. Back in the factory people are working very hard to improve by quite a big step for next season, but at the moment it's all a bit unknown as to who is going to be strong.

“For sure you can rely on two or three teams to be at the front again, and our challenge is to be as close as possible to them and fight alongside them. If we can achieve that next year we will see; it's a long way.”

Insisting amidst the current global credit crunch and Honda's shock recent withdrawal from the sport that Red Bull is not in any imminent danger of following suit, the former F3 Euroseries Vice-Champion also gave his views, finally, on Bernie Ecclestone's contentious new Olympic-style medals scoring system proposal.

“We will see,” he stated. “Whatever happens, in the end the guy who wins will get a lot of points or a gold medal or whatever. I personally believe we already have a good system; maybe we will have an even better one in the future, I don't know.

“I'm not in a position to think about that too much and I don't worry about it to be honest; all I care about is driving the car.”

by Russell Atkins