How has life been since you led your debut grand prix at the Nurburgring?
Marcus Winkelhock: It has been a nice time since then and for me it was a fantastic moment to lead [my] first race, for sure it was a lucky decision. But anyway, for me it was a fantastic experience and I enjoyed it absolutely.

You led the German Grand Prix thanks to inspired tyre choices for first the wet and then the extreme wet Bridgestone Potenzas. Who made those choices: you or the team?
MW: In the warm up lap, and the formation lap at the grid, I saw already some spots on my visor so I asked the team if maybe we should take the risk and they said: OK we take the risk and come in. It was a lucky decision because I went out with wet tyres and after two or three corners it started to rain, and so it was a lucky decision.

You had great GP2 Series success here last year with pole position, a race win and fastest lap. Even though you are not driving this year, what are your secrets for success here?
Nelson Piquet Jnr: Well, I think last year it worked out because the whole team, the whole strategy was good, the car was very well, the team was working, the set up was very good with the tyres and I think those are the main secrets of the race weekend. Istanbul is the kind of track I like because it has a lot of high speed corners, because it is big, it's wide, it's quite difficult so it's the kind of track I like, it suits me very well. I was very comfortable here last year and that was one of the most important factors to win the race.

How good a training ground was the GP2 Series to get you your current position of test and reserve driver for the ING Renault F1 Team?
NP: I think GP2 is very important, it's a similar car to Formula One, it's the same size, the power of the engine is quite similar, of course it's slower but it's still the same level as a Formula One car. You drive most of the [same] tracks as the Formula One cars, so you learn the tracks and you learn how to drive in a very competitive, very similar car to Formula One, it's basically really, really important. I think every driver should go through it before doing a Formula One season. For me it was very important to show the Formula One teams and to show Renault I was capable of doing a good job and in getting my seat here.

You were on the front pages of newspapers after your big crash in Montreal. What are your feelings now looking back on it?
Robert Kubica: Yes, it was a massive crash but fortunately nothing happened so I could come back quite quickly in France. I missed one grand prix in Indy and nothing changed.

What will be your approach to the Turkish Grand Prix this year?
RK: Well, this is my second time here. Last year I have done not really a good grand prix, we had some problems. We hope for some better results this year and our car is performing much better compared to last year and we are looking of course to score as many points as possible for the team and for myself.

You scored your first pole position and won your first grand prix in Istanbul last year – this place must have pretty good memories for you?
Felipe Massa: Yeah, definitely, the Turkish Grand Prix was the first victory I had in my career, and the first pole position so it was a great weekend I had here last year. For sure it gave me a lot of luck so I hope this time I can have the same luck for me again this year and for sure to try to win this grand prix a second time.

When we compare your performance with last year, this year your performance has improved. What is the reason for this do you think?
I think a lot of practice, a lot of testing, more experience. I think step by step we are getting better and better. The team, for sure, is a great team. I think you know everything day by day you grow up even more and you get even better. I hope to carry on this up hill improvement day by day and hope to be even more successful in the future.

Is Istanbul an easy or difficult track to learn?
Nick Heidfeld: It's not an easy circuit to learn especially because of the famous Turn 8, and it's quite a new circuit. It's very good fun. Physically it's not good because there are a lot of long straights it might be quite difficult this year because it's very hot, even early in the morning, but it's very enjoyable.

You are very close to Robert Kubica in the races and you are among the top five in the championship. Do you think that this competition with your teammate takes your team to the top?
NH: Well of course we hope so. We always have good fights on the circuit next to each other, and if we are not on the circuit it seems quite OK. I think we are pushing each other's limits definitely. The team has performed better than we expected. BMW has only been here for two years and we are already third in the constructors' championship. It's a lot more fun if you have a strong teammate. Of course, it's easy if you have a slow teammate but it's definitely more fun if you have to push.