It will feel a bit weird to get back to racing in these conditions, but I am sure that once we are in the car we will not focus on the restrictions but just on doing the best job we can. The break was a chance to spend time with my family but now we have to focus on the job. With so many races in so little time, we need to make the most of every event and score points every time we get the chance. It’s hard to tell where everyone stands, but we will find out soon enough.

We return to action this week and I cannot wait to be in the car. It has been a very sombre few months for everyone, and with my family and so many friends back home in Italy, I was particularly touched by it. To go back to racing feels like another step towards some sort of normality. I am curious to see how everyone does in Austria and to see what happens with two races in the same venue; it’s a first for Formula One so it will be something we will need to adapt to. As for being rusty after so many months away, I am not worried about that: I didn’t race for two years between 2017 and 2019, so, if anything, I will try to turn that into an advantage.

It has been so long since the last race in Abu Dhabi, so obviously we are eager to go back to racing: this is what drives us on and what we have been working for all season. Of course, the situation will be different, given the restrictions forced on us by the pandemic: but we are confident in the measures the FIA and Formula One have taken to keep us all safe. The first race of the season is often a chaotic affair and that’s when opportunities arise: we will need to be ready to take any that come our way. Racing again here in a week’s time will be a new experience for all of us, but we expect the midfield battle to be so close to make both races really open and unpredictable.