AT&T Williams F1

To be back in a Formula 1 car so soon after Montreal was very useful because it meant I didn't waste any time during Friday morning practice getting used to the FW29. I had a good feeling for the car from the beginning, so I was able to concentrate on learning the Indianapolis road course and setting up the car. I was pleased with how things went during the session. We made some progress with the car and I did a new tyre run – on the harder Bridgestone tyre compound – at the end. To finish in 13th place, just 0.7s away from AT&T Williams' race driver Nico Rosberg, was a good result for me and I enjoyed the experience very much. As for the track, it was nice to drive at Indianapolis. It has a long history and the banked corner at the end of the lap was exciting to drive because it gave you a different view of the racetrack. I had to look up as I went through it in order to see where I was going! Unfortunately, the infield section was not quite so good because there were a lot of slow corners. As for the rest of my trip in the USA, I flew to Indianapolis on the Monday after Montreal and spent a couple of days exercising and shopping before heading to the Brickyard. The build-up to the race was made more enjoyable by the presence of Yoshi Arimatsu, from Toyota's Young Driver Programme, who used to live in Indy. He was able to show me all the best places to visit. I'm a baseball fan, so we went along to Victory Field, the home ground of the Indianapolis Indians. It was fun, although I was sorry to miss Masumi Kuwata, the pitcher for the Pitsburg Pirates, who had been playing there the previous weekend. Looking ahead, I'm in the middle of one of the busiest weeks of the year. I flew back from Indy on Saturday prior to testing for AT&T Williams at Silverstone on Tuesday. I then fly to Paul Ricard for a two-day GP2 test on Wednesday and Thursday, before heading straight to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where I will be driving the FW29 next weekend. Still, I guess it's good to be busy! See you next time, Kazuki.