In the car and in front of the camera I tend to be very calm but behind the scenes I can get fired up and passionate, I just don't see the need to shout my mouth off in public.

I don't purposely speed, but I might go over by five or six miles an hour from time to time. It doesn't give me a buzz driving on normal roads, because I can't go fast enough. It's never going to be anything like an F1 car.

The fast, flowing parts, the high-speed corners, that's where a Formula One car is at its best - changes of direction, pulling high g-forces left and right.

A lot of people think Formula One isn't a sport because everyone drives a car when they go to work in the morning. But we're pulling up to six G on a corner or during breaking, which is almost like being a fighter pilot. So we have to do a lot of work on our neck muscles.

I keep my weight low, although you need to be able to move your weight around the race car to change the balance. I'm 6ft and I'm 70kg so I haven't much fat on me.

You're pulling 4-5G for a lot of the corners around the lap. We build up lactic acid because there are a lot of vibrations in the car, and you have to have strong legs to hit the brake pedal. We need to be fit to do every lap at 100%.

In my hometown there is a pub named after me - The Frome Flyer on Jenson Avenue. How cool is that?!

The only time I think about life beyond F1 is when I contemplate becoming a dad. But there's no way that's going to happen while I'm still racing. To be successful in F1 you need to be very selfish in lots of ways and you're away from home for long periods. That's not the kind of father I want to be.

When I'm on my own, I can be negative. I need my friends and family around to help pick me up if I've had a bad qualifying session. I think insecurity plagues a lot of sportspeople.

To drive an F1 car you have to be a little mad. On the morning of a race there's a mix of excitement and fear. If it's a wet track, then it's worse as you're not in control most of the time, which is the thing all drivers fear the most.