I think fans of the sport have a good understanding now of how fit Formula One drivers need to be.

I need to develop a car and engineer a car in a position that feels comfortable for me, and I don't think anyone can do a better job than I can in that position. The problem for me is if I can't get the car there I do struggle more than some.

My school reports always used to point out that my concentration levels were appalling. I never listened in class because I was always daydreaming about racing. I never thought for a moment about doing anything else. There was no guarantee that I'd make a career in it but I never had any plan B.

I've spent as much as 30 grand on a watch but it's not about flaunting my wealth. I don't have many extravagances but watches are my biggest one. I must have 30 of them now. I've been collecting since the age of nine, when I won a black TAG in a karting event.

I have never been a believer that nice clothes should only be for people with money.

I wasted a lot of my talent in the '90s because the money was so big, and I was making so much money, I didn't care to practise as much. That is my only regret.

What has destroyed every previous civilization has been the tendency to the unequal distribution of wealth and power.

Some argue we should get coal, oil and gas out of the ground as quickly as possible, build more pipelines and make as much money as we can selling it here and abroad. Their priorities are the economy and meeting short-term energy needs so we can live the lives to which we've become accustomed.