After the unique demands of the Baku City Circuit, we return to a more conventional racetrack in Austria. It’s a much shorter track than Baku, but it’s still very challenging because you cannot afford to make any mistakes. A lap takes less than 70s, which squeezes the grid closer together and there are only a few tenths of a second between rows. To be fast you need good traction and efficient aero, which we have. For that reason, I hope we can be more competitive than we were in Baku – and I hope to have a longer race than I did last year, which was over on the opening lap! I enjoy the atmosphere at the Red Bull Ring because the fans are passionate and very knowledgeable. They seem to love anything with an engine and the air displays and motorcycle demonstrations over the weekend are all well received. There have been some great Austrian drivers to whet people’s appetites, one of whom – Niki Lauda – won a world championship with McLaren. Another former McLaren driver, Gerhard Berger, is a good friend of mine. “The track isn’t the most technical on the calendar, but it’s still quite demanding because there are some fast corners and you have to be very careful not to make a single mistake for 71 laps. We come prepared and I hope we can have a good weekend.

In many ways, racing in Austria reminds me of my early F1 career. I finished fourth at the track in 2003, and, even then, it had the feeling of a classic grand prix circuit. After an 11-year gap when the race wasn’t on the calendar, we returned there in 2014 and it’s thrown up some exciting races. There are only nine corners, which means that every input from within the cockpit needs to be extremely precise, as even the slightest mistake can cost a lot of time. There are a couple of overtaking points, so the racing is always close. I’m looking forward to it. After three ‘city’ races in Monaco, Montreal and Baku, the Austrian Grand Prix has a very different backdrop. It’s located in a very rural part of Austria, in the heart of the Styrian mountains, with no big cities close by. That gives it an enjoyable, old-school feel. After a decent showing in Baku, I’ll be looking to start where I left off next weekend. Like everyone at McLaren-Honda, I’m hungry to score more points; our package is improving race-by-race and I look forward to getting the maximum from it in Austria.

After two long- haul races on consecutive weekends, Formula 1 returns to its European heartland. The Austrian Grand Prix is one of the oldest races on the calendar, it’s an event in which McLaren has enjoyed a lot of success, and it’s a great weekend for the fans. After returning from the last two races without a top 10 finish, our immediate aim is to get back into the points. In Canada, Fernando finished 11th, and Jenson achieved the same result in Azerbaijan, neither of which track best suited our car’s characteristics, so we’ll be hoping to do a little better in Austria this weekend. We also need to address the reliability issues that accounted for one of our cars in each of the last two races. We’ve been worked hard since we got back to Woking to pin-point the problem and try to ensure that there isn’t a recurrence. On a positive note, all four pitstops conducted by our pit crew in Baku were completed in under 3s, which is an incredible effort. Away from the track, we’ve been equally busy. Last week we were delighted to announce a new partnership with Michael Kors, one of several new lifestyle brands associated with McLaren, and we had a significant presence at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where we ran some classic Formula 1 machinery up the famous hill. Now, though, it’s time to focus on the racing again and everyone at McLaren-Honda relishes that challenge.

The Red Bull Ring is a beautiful technical track, where once you get up the initial uphill section, most of the circuit is a fast downhill with tight corners. It is also one of the shortest races of the year, so once the lights go out, it becomes an intense battle for the drivers and engineers to strategise and adapt quickly throughout the race. The track is somewhat power-hungry but we have confirmed that our new turbo's efficiency helped the team in both Montreal and Baku. We hope to manage our ERS to suit the undulating nature of the track, so we can again fight for points in Sunday's race.