Jean Alesi Singapore Grand Prix

Lotus Renault GP finished 15th and 17th , which must come as a disappointment after recent points finishes. Why did the team struggle in Singapore?

Street circuits have been the R31’s Achilles’ heel throughout the season and Singapore was no different, but the reality of the car’s lackluster performance was very hard to swallow. The pace just wasn’t there and the tyre degradation was pretty shocking. The team will have to analyze what caused this. There were some other contributing factors too as to why the team struggled to improve on its qualifying performance: Bruno locked up at the hairpin, which is very easy to do at this bumpy part of the circuit, and hit the wall forcing him to pit for a new nose. Vitaly also lost time with a KERS problem, which made it additionally difficult to overtake. So, a very tough weekend indeed for the boys.

Do you enjoy the spectacle of night racing, and would you have liked to race under floodlights during your F1 career?

This is such an exciting evolution for Formula One. The whole event - the organization, the spectacle, the way the city embraces the event – is unequaled. Sure, I’d have been excited by racing at night, it looks like a lot of fun, but mine was a different era. This is now, and I find it all very positive. It’s an impressive show, and F1 is in show business. Races like Singapore appeal to a big, young audience I think.

Did you find it difficult to adapt to the unusual paddock timetable? A couple of teams broke their curfew by turning up to work too early…

I had no problems at all. I just kept my body clock to European time, went to bed at 4am and awoke at noon. It was very civilized, actually. One feels a bit guilty waking up in the afternoon. It’s great news for all the night owls.

In Singapore you made an important announcement – that in May next year you’ll be racing in the Indy 500. You must be very excited about this latest challenge…

It’s going to be a wonderful experience and I am taking this comeback, this new challenge very seriously. It is rare to get this opportunity, an ambition I have held for some time, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without Lotus so I am incredibly grateful for their support. I have already started work with Dallara on the simulator, and working closely with the engineers to understand what I need to do to be competitive on ovals. We are developing our own Lotus IndyCar engine which will fire up soon, and I can’t wait to test it on the track. There’s a lot to do, not least on the fitness side