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I don't know if you've ever been skiing, but if you go to the slope you'll see all these kids fearlessly zooming by. It's only when we get older that fear creeps in. But for me, it just never has. And when it comes to racing, it's always about who is willing to go further, who is willing to take that extra step. I'm willing to take any amount of pain to win. I'm hungry like you.
One time I didn't leave my hotel room for four days, I was so stuck in my head. But now, with maturity and age, I've realized that winning isn't everything. It's very much about the journey, particularly in my sport. There are so many people on my team, and I've got to be conscious of them. So while winning is definitely the ultimate goal, the lessons learned when I don't win only strengthen me.
Cornering is like bringing a woman to a climax. Both you and the car must work together. You start to enter the area of excitement at the corner, you set up a pace which is right for the car and after you've told it it is coming along with you, you guide it along at a rhythm which has by now become natural. Only after you've cleared the corner you can both take pleasure in knowing it's gone well.
When I look at pictures from when I was younger, I think, "Holy crap, what the hell was I wearing?" I've made it a real mission to fully understand what fashion is all about. I love going to these shows because I love seeing creativity. So when I get to meet these fashion designers, I'm kind of like, "Where did you get the idea to make this? What were you thinking?" Some of that stuff is so crazy and loud.
I'm constantly watching my weight for my job, and I've trained so hard this year to be ready for this season-more rigorously than ever - but people who tune in to Formula One have no comprehension of what we have to do to be fit. It's so physical. This year, the car is way faster than when you came to the race. And the physicality has gone up quite a lot, at least 20 to 30 percent. People don't see that. They don't see us as athletes. They just see us driving.
If you are for a long time at the top you've basically achieved everything you wanted to. Then the ball's breaking stuff starts to be too much: it's not what you do in the car, it's what you do outside the car - the press conferences, the interviews, the sponsorship commitments, the marketing appearances - that sadly go up to a level that the whole package, including the risks you take, the workload you do to get the car to work and for you to be quick in the races, it becomes too much.
I was not interested at all in Formula One when I left; I was very busy with my airline. But slowly I started missing the adrenaline rush and the driving of such fantastic cars at the limit. In reality this urge never disappears when you're a top driver, because I think we're a different breed of people, we need to take chances, we need to push ourselves to the limit all the time, that sort of thing. It stays with you, although you can kill it by losing motivation or other things in your life, but it never leaves you forever.