GP2 - Jules Bianchi: "Monaco is my home race"
Jules Bianchi arrived in the Principality nice and early given he faces a busy weekend linked to a variety of tasks, such as charity appearances, promotional events and actual racing. "Monaco is not your normal event," reckons the 21 year old Frenchman. "You arrive here at least one day earlier than usual and the backdrop makes everything rather special. Then, in my case, I must add I was born in Nice, so I can consider Monaco to be my home race. "Lots of my family and friends will be here to watch me in action trackside." The link between Bianchi and the Monaco circuit does not have a long history though, as it actually only dates back to 2009. "It wasn't a particularly lucky debut," recalls Jules. "I was on track in a Formula Renault 3.5 car run by a team for whom this was their very first outing in the category. So, I consider my 2010 appearance in GP2 as my true debut in the Principality. It was a rather important event because never before had I got a good result on a street circuit. And today, I can admit that at the time I had some doubts about my approach. But it turned out to be a weekend I will always remember fondly, which started with a seventh fastest time in free practice, a place on the row 3 of the grid in qualifying, fourth place in Race 1 and third in the second one. A crescendo on a track I instantly liked and I believe there is no other track quite like it." Does he feel Monaco is really special as a track? "Yes, you go out on track with the same approach as usual, but after each passing lap you realises that you need double the concentration of a traditional circuit, because you only need to get your line wrong by a couple of centimetres to end up in the wall or a barrier. That is the main trap of street circuits and Monaco is obviously not an exception."
Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)
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