209 grands prix, 10666 laps, 22 countries, five continents. If Mark was to put together his ultimate F1 circuit, what would the first sector be? MW: “I would start the lap with the famous first sector at Suzuka. What a lot of people don’t appreciate is the very steep downhill entrance to Turn 1 which makes the first right-hander very fast. Then you start to climb into Turn 2 and you are generally climbing all the way up to Turn 7, the long left-hander. I have to choose it because of the accuracy required, the sensational undulations and its very technical nature. “I have a few great memories from there especially the year I was going for the championship in 2010. It was a battle for pole between Sebastian and I, so we just kept ramping up the pace. It was a super rewarding session. I started second on the grid and finished a few tenths behind him in the race. I was just trying my hardest to force him into making a mistake. In those days we didn’t have DRS or KERS which would have been nice. “My fourth place for Williams in 2005 was also a very strong race for me in a car which probably didn’t deserve to be there. It is an awesome feeling to know you’ve got the maximum out of the car. “Obviously Spa has also got a pretty tasty first sector thanks to its famous long straights which give you an amazing sensation of speed but for me Suzuka just beats it.”
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 04:17:56 +0000
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