Interview with Danny Watts

After helping to develop the new generation A1GP car, he was called up by Team Great Britain for their seasonal debut in China two weeks ago. He scored a pole position and two podiums straight out of the box at Chengdu, and has set off at a front running pace in Malaysia ahead of Sunday's races at Sepang.

He spoke to autosport.com about being back in a single-seater, carrying Great Britain's title hopes, and the tough physical challenge that will be Sunday's 70-minute feature race in Malaysia's extreme heat and humidity.

Q. How are you finding Sepang so far?

Danny Watts: "I raced at Sepang in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in 2005, so I knew the circuit already. But these cars are so completely different - the A1GP car is half the weight, and with more power, and that just makes it a completely different circuit. With the aero, the downforce, the braking, it's unbelievable in this car.

"This morning I dialled myself in and we worked on the car. It's very different from Chengdu, smooth and faster, and it requires a very different setup."

Q. A1GP is working out nicely for you so far. Could this be the full-time single-seater drive you've been looking for since Formula 3?

DW: "At the moment I'm just here race by race, so I'm not sure what will happen beyond this weekend. (His girlfriend) Fiona (Leggate, former BTCC racer) is expecting a baby on the Taupo weekend (the next race), so I think I will give that round a miss to be there for the birth of my first child - although that was the hardest decision of my life.

"Hopefully I will get an opportunity again. I'm under the microscope, so I hope I can have a competitive weekend, score some good points, and get to work with the team again. But obviously the decision is down to them."

Q. Following the pole positions and podiums first time out, should we expect you to be winning and lifting Great Britain into the championship fight?

DW: "At my first race I had a pole and two podiums, and you always think you'll go on and get better, but it's not as easy as that. There really are a lot of very good drivers at the front of this field and I still feel like I'm playing catch up, in terms of recent single-seater experience at least.

"I hadn't driven one since the one-off F3 with Raikkonen Robertson in 2006, and that's a long time out. But I just need to focus on getting the best out of this particular car and the engineers have really helped with that.

"One of the biggest skills I've learned is to be able to adapt between cars, but to do it very quickly. You don't want to take half a day because you lose all that time working with the engineers and setting the car up. Two years ago, I'd have found it very difficult, now it's much easier and I think that shows in the results.

"I think I've proved that I've adapted very quickly to this car. The first step is to score some more points and next I really want to step up and get my first win in the category.

"Expectations are very high for the team after they finished third in all three championships so far, it's almost taken as automatic that we should be in the championship fight. But this is still only our second race, so we're still learning what makes this car tick, setup wise, but it will come. I've no doubt about that, the speed is there."

Q. Who do you expect your main rivals to be this weekend?

DW: "Switzerland, France, Malaysia on home soil will be strong, and Ireland and Portugal are the form teams - they both did great at Chengdu. The top ten is full of strong teams and drivers, that's why it's so important in qualifying to get that one lap in to get you at the sharp end. You've got a tiny window and you've got to get on it straight away."

Q. How have you prepared yourself for Sunday's feature race and how big a challenge will it be in this heat and humidity?

DW: "The most important thing is to constantly keep hydrated during the weekend, and to make sure you're eating high protein food, and high energy food, with slow-release energy. Drink as much as you can and stay out of the sun as much as you can. That's really all you can once you're here.

"Having been out of single-seaters for a couple of years, I've been working different muscle groups and have had power steering in sportscars, so I'm not at my peak fitness at the moment for a big single-seater. It's never the same in a gym, no matter how much you train, you just need to be in the car to get used to it. The more you drive, the more you improve. We are going to fit a water bottle for race day, so I'll be able to take on some liquid during the race to help my longevity.

"But I don't think of it as a 70-minute race, I think of it as a series of three sprints. Actually, when you're driving it's ok, you can open your visor a bit for some air and take a breather on the straights, it's when you stop in the pits that you really feel the heat. It's very different from Chengdu here, that was very bumpy and there's constant kick back through the wheel to control, but Sepang is smooth, and with a couple of long straights that you can get a bit of a rest on.

"More than anything, I think it's mind over matter. As soon as you start feeling tired in your head, you get tired. You just have to not think about it and just keep going."