Q & A: Mortara on Macau double

But despite his success, Mortara does not see himself getting a Formula 1 opportunity in the near future and expects to be in the DTM next year, as he told AUTOSPORT.

Q. You are the first man to have won for a second time in the F3 Macau Grand Prix. It must be a very special feeling?

Edoardo Mortara: It is a special feeling to win here two times. It is a great feeling for everybody - for me, for Volkswagen, for Signature. It has been a really tough weekend because I was feeling really a lot of stress. I could not really sleep well; I could not really eat well.

I was looking forward to this race but the stress was growing and growing every day. I was feeling worse and worse every day, and I am actually happy that everything is finished now because I was feeling really no energy at all waking up on race morning. So it is really a great feeling to have won.

Q. But when you were in the car there were not any signs that you were nervous?

EM: That is my job. I need to do the perfect job and I really super happy about my weekend because I didn't do anything wrong. I did the perfect weekend and, when you do weekends like this, it is really difficult for the others to follow you. When I overtook Laurens [Vanthoor] I pushed really, really hard on that lap because I knew the job could be done. After that I was just praying that there would be no more accidents and no more safety cars.

You are always at the limit, especially in this race. The previous race and the qualification race I was not really on the limit, but in the main race I was pushing with all I had. I was really on the limit of the car and for every lap, until two laps from the end.

It is not very easy to win a race like this. You need to make the difference with the others, and they are all champions as well. Valtteri [Bottas] is a great guy and a fantastic driver, my team-mate Laurens Vanthoor was a former German F3 champion - and to make a difference is crazy difficult, and when you do it you can be proud of it.

Q. So it was quite a stressful race then?

EM: It was really a lot of stress. At a certain point I had a more than three-second lead and I knew that without any big mistake I could win - but I was looking at my pit board and it said '-6', so there were still six laps to go. I knew that with a safety car then it would have been almost over. And I have seen so many races here in previous years where the guy in front is leading by a big margin, he is going to win, but then there is a safety car and the second guy actually comes through.

Q. How do the emotions of this win compare to your first one?

EM: It is very different. Last year I was coming here and I had to re-prove to everybody that I was capable of doing the job. This year was really different because I had a really good season, and everybody knew that I could do the job - and I did it. So it is really different from that perspective.

Q. Does the fact you made history by becoming the first man to win the F3 event twice mean something too?

EM: Yes, of course, in a way. I am pretty proud of it, of course. I came here four times - two times I won, one time I was second and I should have. In the first year I crashed pretty badly in the qualification race but I was on the pace.

I have heard a lot of people say that Macau is a benchmark for people to evaluate drivers, and to be that competitive it shows that I am not that stupid and I can do the job.

Q. When you won here last year you said you hoped that it would boost your career. What do you reckon after this victory?

EM: It is like from zero to hero - and it was really like that. I was vice-champion in F3 in 2008, and finished second in Macau that year but should have won but we had a little technical problem and I touched the wall also. At that time I was one of the drivers to follow for the future, but then I had a crazy-difficult season in GP2 - but that's now in the past and I don't want to speak about it.

I came here after that [in 2009], and won, and after that everything has worked so well for me. I don't know why, because I did not really change a lot of stuff in my living, as I am the same driver and still driving in pretty much the same way. But now I am doing the right job pretty much every weekend, and it is working very well for me.

Q. Do you think after this win here that you might stir some interest with F1 teams?

EM: I am not a person who dreams, I am someone pretty realistic. It didn't bring me anything the first time so I don't think it is going to bring me something by winning it a second time. But at the same time I would love to be called, even just to step into the car - not even driving it!

But it is like this. The Formula 1 world is becoming different from what it was because of money. You definitely need a lot of money, which I don't have. So you need people who believe in you, support you and invest in you. And this is not the case for me - and that is fine for me.

Q. So do you have any hopes for F1 then?

EM: For F1 I don't have hopes. For F1 you need other things than results right now.

Q. What about being a test driver?

EM: Well, even the test drivers bring so much money and I don't have one tenth of what they are bringing.

Q. Is it not a bit frustrating that you have achieved such success and yet still F1 shows no interest?

EM: It is. But I have learned to live with it. It was frustrating at the beginning, because when I stepped up in GP2 I already had these kinds of problems and I knew it was going to be difficult. But that is fine. Life is like this, and life is unfair. But in life, there are things that are much, much worse than my case.

At the end, it is not right to think that it is unfair for me. It is a lot more unfair for a lot of people. I am a lucky guy at the end, even if I had a really tough season, but I am back in the game and hopefully I can have a seat. And if I am staying at home next year, at least I have proven what I am capable of and that is really important.

Q. So what are your other options?

EM: I would like to find a professional series to continue racing. I am passionate about racing and if I can find a series where I can continue racing then it is super. With F3 Euro Series we were really close with DTM, and I am having an opportunity to test an [Audi] car, either at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. It is going to be soon, and then they will decide if I am good in it and then we will see.

Q. So other than the Audi test, do you have any other plans?

EM: Not really. It is my priority. I did a mistake in 2008 not listening to other people, and now that is my priority. When they will decide what to do with me, then I will start finding solutions if they say 'no, you are not capable.'

Q. But staying in the Audi/VW family would be good for you, wouldn't it?

EM: Of course. It is what I am aiming for. But at the same time if they said, 'no, we don't want to retain you for 2011' then I would have to find something else if I have to find something.

I know a lot of people want to go to DTM. F1 is becoming so much more difficult to get in because of the money, so everybody is trying to find alternatives. And DTM is getting as difficult as F1 to get into.

Q. So what about coming back to Macau to try and get a third in a row?

EM: If they invite me back I will come with great pleasure. I am coming here to have fun, not to win or to make history. In the end I make history because I am having so much fun right here, right now. I am driving really fast so if they call me I will come again.