I was really looking forward to arriving in Magny Cours after we had a great test at Le Castellet. Magny Cours is maybe not a great place to live but it is nice there, and for sure I had high expectations of securing a strong result. We did end up on the podium, which we were really happy about, but I think that maybe we were hoping for a little bit more too...
At the Paul Ricard test we were quick all the time: I was fastest overall, quickest on the second day, and even on the first day we were improving all the time and we were very happy with what we found, and the information we got. It was really good because we found some driveability and some pace. The performance we had for the two days was always very consistent and very strong, so I headed to Magny Cours very happy and very motivated.
Last year I was fourth and second in the French races and second in the championship, so everything was different to now. With the set-up that we found in the test, I was convinced that we could start to really fight in the sessions, but it wasn't really what we expected because we were struggling again in free practice.
For me it was just very difficult to find the limit with the car and the limit with the set-up; to find a good set-up for me. We were always struggling to get close to the limit: I just don't feel confident in the car at the moment. Apart from Le Castellet I never feel confident enough to push 100 per cent. I do it anyway because that is my job, but it's not really how you want it as a racing driver, when normally you get in the car and you push 100 per cent from the first corner until the end.
At the moment when I pushed I made a lot of mistakes because I don't have a special feeling with my car, and because the set-up changed after Paul Ricard. Many people asked me why it was different, and this is a good question: I expected to have the same feeling at Magny Cours and I didn't, and this is what we have to find out about.
