Allan McNish Q&A

"Overall I was very, very happy with Monaco. I was disappointed in the race for obvious reasons, but I had a really good run all the way through, and learned the circuit well. I felt at home with the circuit, and really felt at home with the car. Monaco was excellent in that respect."



"Obviously there comes a point. But I'm just getting on with the job. It's the best thing I can do, and that will come later. It's not my ultimate priority right now. The other factor is that at the end of the day, like I said last year if you do the job, you get the drive. I think from my point of view we're looking pretty good."



"I had a really good run in Malaysia. The races that I've been in, in terms of overtaking people, in terms of lap times, in terms of races and results, I think I've been very, very strong. You just need an opportunity sometimes. I made a mistake in Monaco, but otherwise I haven't made mistakes. Generally when we've had an equal situation then I've been in a really good position."



"Yes it will be. There will be a heck of a lot of support at the Nurburgring. It is the local race for TMG, but also Toyota Europe and Toyota Germany as well. There are going to be a tremendous amount of people there, so we want to put on a good show. We tested there last year, but the Nurburgring is notorious for inclement weather, and they've changed the circuit, so I think we go there a little bit blind - as everybody does."



"I've only seen the circuit map. You come into Turn One and you've got a hairpin and then effectively a long left and then a link to the exit of the old Turn One. I think it will be pretty good for overtaking, because now we've got two overtaking points, into the 'Veedol Sassoon' chicane - I should say the Wella Chicane! - and into the first corner. Before into the first corner was a bit of pure balls and bravado, and now I think there's actually an opportunity. It sounds like it's going to be a casino on the first lap, especially if you're in the mid-grid area and you get a banzai move down the inside. It's a bit like Austria."



"There are a few things I've learned about F1, and one is that if you miss a session, you lose out all weekend. Every time I've missed a session it's been pretty nigh on impossible to catch up. That's the first thing. The second thing is that if you hit the sweet spot with the car when you arrive, you're OK. If you don't, you're chasing, and you chase all weekend. Everybody else is moving forward at the same rate as you, but you're always on catch up. I think that's basically it. It's out first year, and sometimes we get to places and we're not in the right area in terms of set-up, and we've had to play catch up. But if you consider the number of races where that's happened, it's not too bad."



"Yes I am. We tested there the other week, and the car was good there, so I'm quite looking forward to Silverstone. There will be quite a lot of people there, and I noticed at the test that there were a lot of fans, and the support was excellent. At the grand prix it's going to be even more so. I can understand Nigel Mansell talking about people power, because support really does push you along."