FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT
‘You can’t help but feel proud of a crash like that. You watch it and you think, “I got out of that”.’
DRIVERS don’t talk about crashes. We talk about “issues in the race”. You know, if you get a puncture on the rear, you have to close and thus lock the differential or risk damage because one wheel’s turning a lot faster than the other. Things like that. But never crashes.
When I was competing, what we did practise, however, was a procedure for quick extraction out of the car in the event of emergency. This came via an FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) ruling, which said that you can’t race unless you can get out of the car and put both feet on the floor in five seconds flat.
It became a bit of a competition. The FIA steward would get to you ahead of the race and he’d been to five teams already and you’re like, “What’s the time to beat?”
He’d be, “Well, [Sebastian] Vettel did it in three point seven.” So you’re like, “Okay, let’s try and beat it.”
And you’d do it in three point five. And your knees are sore and you’ve done your back in, but it was worth it knowing that you’ve won.
So if your car catches fire, say, you get out in your five seconds. But if you crash, though, and it’s a crash at speed, you have to wait
