Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne suffferd more than his share of bad luck at the Spanish Grand Prix, but he intends to take it in his stride as he makes steps toward Monaco...
What can I say about last weekend, it was a real mix of good and bad and unfortunately most of the bad stuff arrived in the race. What happened is there for anyone to see – being hit by [Nico] Hulkenberg in the pit stop and having the problem with the tyre that eventually forced me to retire.
Those are what I suppose you would call the headlines of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend and while I’m not happy about how things turned out, I’m not miserable either, because up until the race I think we had a really good weekend.
First of all, the car felt good from the first moment we went out on track. We hardly had to change anything all weekend and we were quick across every session. I think that was shown in qualifying. We were P11 and P12 and the margin between making it into Q3 or not was incredibly tight. All weekend, the car felt great and the upgrades we had worked well. In fact, I think our team made the biggest improvement of anybody in Barcelona.
It’s been a tough few races for me but I wouldn’t say it’s a disaster. In fact there was some good luck mixed in with the bad. When the tyre let go it was on a small straight. If it had happened in turn nine or in a high-speed corner I think it could have been far worse. It might have been a big impact. So, some good fortune there.
Luck comes and goes. It is part of racing. You have good moments and bad and I don’t want to focus on the bad. I want to arrive in Monaco fully motivated. Last year I think I said street circuits are not my favourite but then I had a pretty good weekend and ran as high as seventh at one point, so maybe I’ll change my mind.
However, I don’t think I’ll be going with a load more confidence this year. You have to approach this kind of race with great humility. You can’t take anything for granted. It’s a really difficult track, fantastic but tricky. There is no room for error and you need to be on it every single second. It’s a really special place, so I’ll arrive there thinking that I’m a very small guy in the middle of this amazing circuit with all its history and tradition.
It is a race where the attention is obviously on me and my compatriots – Jules Bianchi, Charles Pic and Romain Grosjean – but for me I don’t think that brings extra pressure. There are extra demands on your time, but I don’t mind that either. We don’t have a race in France so this is as close as it gets – a couple of kilometres – and a lot of people come to support us. That’s great, the attention is nice for all of us I think.
For now though, a little peace and quiet. Well, almost. Yesterday, I went for a cycle ride and that was very peaceful. Just me and the bike and the road. It’s a fantastic way to both work out and wind down..
Today, though, it’s a different story. I’m heading to Austria for a filming day with the team at the Red Bull Ring in Zeltweg. Just as much fun as the bike ride but, with the V8 engine roaring and a track to play with, not quite as peaceful!