Category: 2013 Season

After two races in Europe, Mark heads to Montreal this weekend for the Canadian Grand Prix.

I’ve enjoyed quite a lot of close racing with Lewis this year,” says Mark. “It was good that we got through Rascasse safely and I’m not quite sure how we did that because it’s very narrow and there’s usually only one line. I was able to use KERS at the exit to ensure I stayed ahead.”

Formula One’s Blue Riband event, the Monaco Grand Prix, is the next challenge for Mark on the 2013 World Championship trail.

“We lacked a bit of pace and a bit of range during the race,” says Mark after his fifth place finish in today’s Spanish Grand Prix. “We didn’t have the speed of the Ferraris or Lotus and my race wasn’t helped by a slow getaway from the grid, dropping me from seventh to 12th.”

“I like this track in Barcelona; it’s high-speed and has a pretty good flow to it,” says Mark on the eve of the Spanish Grand Prix. “It’s a good test of man and machine, and it’s quite fun having the tower on the start-finish straight because you see immediately where you are after a qualifying lap. Everyone will find out how good their car is here, so it’s certainly going to be interesting.”

“I passed a lot of cars early on in that stint and climbed from 14th to second in the space of 13 laps,” explained Mark “but my tyres couldn’t stand the pace and I was forced to pit early.”

The 2013 Bahrain GP heralds Mark’s 200th grand prix. “It’s amazing to think it’s 200 starts already,” he says. “I can remember my first race like it was yesterday,”

“That was a very disappointing weekend,” says Mark. “Every time I got in the car on Saturday and Sunday there was a problem, so I wasn’t able to show my true pace. For some reason it just wasn’t meant to be this weekend.”

Mark arrived at the Shanghai International Circuit on Thursday morning amid a flurry of camera flashbulbs.

A controversial Malaysian Grand Prix ended with Mark coming home in second place. He crossed the line four seconds behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel, but the talk after the race was of how Vettel had disobeyed team orders. “I felt like I drove well today,” says Mark. “The beginning of the race went well for me: […]