Q & A with Anthony Davidson

Q. Welcome to SAF1 Team Anthony! How do you feel at the moment?

AD: I feel very welcome. It is such a fantastic feeling to be here! I am so glad that it has all come together and I am looking forward to building on an already great relationship with the team and to moving on to really good things.

Q. What does it feel like to finally have a permanent Formula One race seat?

AD: It is an amazing feeling - it is what I have dreamt of since I was a little kid doing karting. To finally get your lucky break, because that's what it is at the end of the day, being in the right place at the right time. It is literally a dream come true.

Q. What are your first impressions of your new team and the SAF1 Team factory at Leafield?

AD: My first impressions are that it is a very hard working, small team - a smaller team than I have been used to for the past few years - and it is really nice. There is an extremely friendly atmosphere and all the guys on the factory floor are really motivated to do a good job and I am looking forward to being right there with them.

Q. What do you think it will be like working and competing with Taku (Takuma Sato) again?

AD: It feels a bit strange. I obviously competed with him in Formula Three and then worked with him at the BAR team as it was then. So it will feel a bit strange, but also this time I will be competing directly against him in a way! It will be a fun year, we get on really well and we know each others strengths and weaknesses and hopefully, like in any good team, we will push everybody on to bigger and better things.

Q. What are your personal objectives and expectations for the 2007 season?

AD: Obviously I know how the race weekend format runs from not only my role driving on a Friday but from the three races that I have competed in. Testing is one thing, but racing is another. You can do the lap times in testing, but it is very difficult to do it in the race.

I haven't finished a race yet due to various circumstances, so my first objective is to finish my first race with the team in Melbourne and then go from there - build up the learning blocks. Even though I know the format I am still going to be learning.

By the end of the year I hope to be pushing Taku really hard and hopefully we will be in a competitive environment with our car. The ultimate goal has to be scoring points in your first year and I believe that this is now a realistic goal.