Hot Stuff, Kimi's European GP preview

Obviously, I like Spain. I have won twice in Barcelona, and I’ve been on the podium in Valencia, so there are some good memories.

I have never raced with Lotus in Valencia, so in a way it’s a brand new adventure for me, like every single Grand Prix weekend this year.

The circuit is all about the corners, there are some straights, and it’s generally quite a challenging weekend ahead, again. With so many corners you have to be very consistent, while the smallest error will hurt your lap time substantially.

I have raced twice in Valencia,the weather has always been good. It should be hot again, and that would suit our car very well. As a team we like the Hot Stuff in this season!

We have been working hard with the qualifying settings. The boys at Enstone have done long days to get things going better in one lap. We know it has been our weakest point, and that has kept us from challenging for the top positions on the starting grid.

I just wish to have  one normal weekend, from P1 on Friday morning to the finish of the race on Sunday afternoon.

The circuit itself is not that difficult compared to Monaco. There are a few straights, but still, it’s one of those places, where overtaking is very tricky, if not impossible.

That means qualifying is very important, but still keeping in mind the race gives the points. That’s our target - to keep on going well with the race distance. The hotter it is, the better it is for us.

Now we can leave the issues with the supersofts, and focus on the soft and medium choice from Pirelli.

Obviously, the surface and the hot weather will bring a challenge of its’ own kind for this race. It’s the same for everybody, and whoever gets it right, will do well and will catch good points.

Let’s wait and see, what we are able to do. As a team the effort is at the highest level, while we try our very best to carry on strongly in the constructors’ championship, too.

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