“I'm a rookie driver and still have a lot to learn, but my target naturally is to do the same job as Nico. Probably I have a little bit more space to make mistakes – that obviously is the benefit of being a rookie – but this phase naturally does not last forever.
“It's not easy to come to grips with all the procedures in
F1, so it is quite easy to find yourself in a struggling position. For me I would be very satisfied if I could end this season as Heikki did last year – to catch up in performance and achieve a certain portion of self-confidence caused by results.”
As to his rise up towards the top flight, the 23-year-old admitted his dad Satoru – who raced for both Lotus and Tyrrell in the late 1980s and early 1990s – had been a real inspiration to him, in a similar way to team-mate Rosberg and
Renault's rookie
Nelsinho Piquet, both of whose fathers won the
Formula 1 World Championship back in the eighties.
“I would clearly say that I didn't become a driver because of my father,” Nakajima insisted, “but my father sure was the reason that I got interested in motorsport. I basically grew up at a circuit, so it was much easier for me to learn to understand the basics of motorsport, but watching from outside and racing is a whole new ball game.
“Sure my father helped me a lot in the initial stages of my career, and I have been supported by
Toyota for a long time too. Actually it was fantastic to grow under the Toyota umbrella and knowing I have their full backing.
“You could say it is related to my father, but the fascination for racing – really knowing that I was determined to sit in a cockpit and take the challenge out on a track – was my decision. You could probably say it is in my DNA.”
