Max Chilton of Marussia is among the five Formula One rookies out of the 22 drivers on grid this season. While the Briton is still learning the art of being lapped, he is already an expert who is confident of making the impact.
Chilton got the promotion from Marussia’s GP2 team after taking the fourth position in that series last year. The 21 year old Max Chilton believes that he is at the start of a long journey at the elite level of the sport, despite finishing a low 17th at the season-opener in Australia.
Chilton disclosed to the reporters on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix that he felt comfortable and ready when the decision was made that he got the race seat. He also believes that the Marussia car has a truly good chance of moving up the field. He told that he feels at home, the team is fantastic and has a good team mate—fellow rookie Jules Bianchi to work with from whom he can learn and vice versa which is a winning formula. Chilton admitted that spending a race behind everyone was an experience he was dealing with after enjoying life by staying ahead on the field last season with two wins among four podiums. The blue flags arrived early in Melbourne, earlier than expected, but once he got used to it, he could surely find the best place to allow his car pass and saved time, Chilton narrated. He says that one cannot disturb the leaders as their race is more important than theirs, but still theirs is important. He has to perform the best for his team in terms of not losing time. He will be more comfortable with it after the next couple of races.
Chilton has already made a big leap in terms of the challenges presented at the highest point like all rookies. He was highly interested in explaining the basic differences between what he has experienced before as compared to this season. The Marussia driver explained that there is an improvement in the race length. Maximum he raced for an hour in the past in GP2 but the Formula One added around an extra 40 minutes which made a lot of difference. Physically, one just need to be more specific on the areas worked upon. The important point for the Malaysian races is to make sure that one is always hydrated. If not, one will suffer soon!
Chilton took the third position in the GP2 feature race in Malaysia one year ago. Hence he was delighted to return to the circuit where he got success. He disclosed that Sepang is a very challenging circuit where some high speed flying corners combined with technical areas and had long straights but the notable feature about the circuit is the heat. This year is not as hot as the previous year. However he can possibly focus more on getting the utmost out of the car. We wish him all the best for his future endeavour.
