I do like Bahrain. It’s a circuit, which will hold some very special memories for me forever. My first Formula 1 podium there last season, even if it was on the outer layout, was very special. When I was in the paddock last week, it reminded me of that awesome night. It’d be nice to repeat it again. We’ll remain realistic, though, and look to put together a strong race weekend and grab any opportunity that comes up. Anything can happen, especially the first race of the season, and we’re definitely looking forward to it.

I’m very excited for the entire weekend. There has been a lot of preparation for this moment, not only with the team during testing and the work done at both factories over the winter period, but also personally. Ever since I agreed to join Alpine F1 Team, I have put a lot of effort in to be both physically and mentally prepared for this season. I learnt a lot in my time away from Formula 1, especially all the different styles of racing, but I’m now back in F1 and very motivated for what should be a challenging season ahead. It was fun to be back at the wheel of an F1 car for testing, but now I can’t wait to go racing.

We had a good pre-season test and we covered solid mileage without any significant reliability issues. We went through our items and, from a preparation point of view, we’re in better shape than previous seasons. We have some unanswered questions on the car, though, and we are working through all the data from the test last week to improve our understanding and are planning further tests in free practice on Friday.