We have to work very hard to improve on every front. Success only comes when every element is operating at its best: the car, strategy, pit stops, drivers and everyone else included. I’ve stayed in touch with the engineers these past few days and I know there is no let up in the development of the car at Maranello. We have to catch up and we cannot allow ourselves to lose too much time, especially as the others won’t be twiddling their thumbs over the coming weeks. I trust in the team: I know what it’s made of and I can feel the will to fight back from everyone at Maranello. In the past I have experienced, first as an opponent and then as an insider how capable the Scuderia is of staging a comeback. I well remember when I was at Renault in 2006, that in the first part of the season I had built up a big lead but then Ferrari made such a good job of developing its cars that Schumacher staged a great fight back, overtaking me with two races remaining. Then you only have to look at last year: first in Turkey and then in England, it was suggested we should already be looking to the following year, but we did not give up and we managed to be in the fight for the title right up to the final race. It sounds like a slogan, but it’s the absolute truth: never give up in Formula 1!

If the racing season has yet to make me very happy, at least on the football front there’s been one bit of good news. I was very happy that Real Madrid won against Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey, as it’s a title that has eluded them for such a long time and it came at the end of a very closely fought game. Next up comes the Champions League semi-final, again against Barca. Whatever the outcome, it will be a truly fascinating tussle and obviously I’m hoping for a win for Mourinho’s team!"