Nico, let’s look back on your home race and the first half of the year – have things gone as you expected?

To be honest, I would have hoped for a few more points than I actually have. There were some races where I had some bad luck, which cost me points, especially in Australia where I had a collision on lap one and in Bahrain with a clutch issue at the start. But on the other hand, I am happy with the improvement in performance from both the car and myself. We are regular top ten runners and I hope that we will move a little further up the grid in the second half of the season.

Tell us about your memories of racing at the Hungaroring…

I have some very good memories, especially looking back to 2010 when I finished sixth, which at that time was the best result of my Formula One career. Also, in 2009 I won the GP2 race at the Hungaroring. So I’m looking forward to going back there, especially because I like the city of Budapest: it’s just a nice place to visit.

How do you see your chances for this year’s race?

I think we should be able to fight for points because we recently looked quite strong on circuits that don’t have so many fast corners, such as Valencia. Although it’s quite a slow circuit, it’s very difficult to get a good lap time because you need to hook up all the corners perfectly, so it’s quite challenging.