'I'm one of 15 new F1 hopefuls about to shine in front of millions of fans'
We're through a large chunk of this first F1 Academy season now, and it's been such an incredible ride.
Sadly, it's been difficult for motorsport fans around the world to keep up with what's been going on live. But that's about to change for the final three races of this season.
The last round will be at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, on the same weekend that the F1 United States Grand Prix will be taking place there. And it means the infrastructure will be in place for us to race on live TV!
It's so exciting for all of us. This season has been loads of fun already but, to show off what we can do in front of hundreds of thousands of people at the track and millions more watching from home around the world... It's going to be special.
And what a venue for it – the Austin race is huge. We raced at Paul Ricard last weekend and it was just F1 Academy as a standalone event. It was a little quiet! So going from that to not being able to see a spare seat is going to be epic.
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I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing next year so this Austin race means a lot to me. The team and I have unfinished business in this championship – I've had some great results, but that first win has been just out of reach.
I messaged our boss Stephanie the other day and said: "We're not going to end the year without standing on the top step. I'm not letting that happen!" We're quite determined to end this year on a high.
Monza celebration and Paul Ricard frustration
Since my last column, on the weekend of the British Grand Prix, two rounds of F1 Academy have taken place. The first was at Monza, another iconic racing venue which is always just such a privilege to see with your own eyes, never mind drive around it.
Across the three races, I finished P4 with a broken driveshaft, P3 in a reverse grid and then P2 in race three. I really wanted the in of course but, at the end of the day, when you're fighting for championships, the wins aren't as important – it's the points which make prizes.
Another P2 in France was great... but I want that win! (Getty Images)You can have a whole weekend like I did at Monza where you score P4, P3 and P2 and come away with more points than someone who wins one race and DNFs the others. The consistency is more important most of the time. But for me right now, I'm no longer fighting for the championship so I'd rather just have a P1!
At Paul Ricard last weekend, I qualified on pole, converted that into a P2 finish, then a P7 and then I got disqualified in the last race. My front-left tyre pressure was below the limit. Pirelli set a minimum tyre pressure and we go out on track with the minimum. My job as the driver is to get temperature in the wheels because heat makes the PSI go higher to reach the limit.
But our pressure gauges were out by nearly a full PSI for all three of our cars. I started at the front and they checked mine, so I was the one who got disqualified. I got as much temperature into the tyres and the brakes as I could, so I know there wasn't a lot I could have done. It's just a bullet you've got to bite.
It wasn't the best way to go into a two-month gap. I wanted to go into it with a bit of momentum and a bit happier with the results. It's hard to focus on the positives when the results aren't what you want them to be, but the positives are that we've got a really good package and that we've been well up there in terms of podiums.
More F1 involvement and Susie Wolff's miracles
It was announced recently that all 10 F1 teams will be fielding a driver in F1 Academy next season, using their liveries, which will be so great for the series. We don't yet know how involved the teams will actually be and what relationship they will have with the drivers.
F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff has been getting things done (Getty Images)For example, Haas don't have a junior programme, so in their case would it just be an F1 team livery on the car? There would be some sort of agreement, though, as the driver chosen by each team will be representing their brand.
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Some teams though, such as Alpine who I am affiliated with, might be able to bring the female drivers into their programmes. Out of the current 15 drivers, the only one other than myself currently in an F1 team's junior programme is Lena Buhler, who is with Alfa Romeo-Sauber. It would be cool to see more of us being invited to join teams officially now that there is more F1 involvement! But even just being associated with the F1 teams is huge.
Regardless, the involvement of the teams in any case is already so appreciated. The majority of the budget is covered – an F4 season is normally half-a-million pounds, while F1 Academy is only a quarter of that!
And we have to give massive credit to managing director Susie Wolff for the work she has done. As soon as she sets her mind to something it seems to be done in the blink of an eye. Even the stuff that might sound crazy to other people, she gets it done. She keeps to her word.
Part of me wants to be eight years old again! Having F1 Academy around at younger age for me would have made the jump from karting to single-seater cars so much more simple and affordable. My first season in single seaters came when I was 17, which made me quite old by comparison. But I'm here now and determined to make the most of it!
What I love about Alpine's recent changes
Julian Rouse, the director of the Alpine young driver programme, has just been made interim sporting director at the F1 team. I've worked with Julian all this year – he was new to the Alpine academy.
He's been really pushing me on this year and really wanting me to succeed. He's played a part in helping to make sure I'm in the right mindset for the race, which is a huge help. I have quite a lot of contact with him.
It's nice to see that he's been promoted to this new role until the end of the year. It's a great opportunity for him. From my perspective, it's nice to have had a connection with someone like that who is high up in the team, who respects my ability and who wants to see me do well.
And there are so many others who have been supportive of me as well. That includes both Otmar Szafnauer and Alan Permane. I'll be going to Zandvoort later this month and it will be strange to be there without them. But I know those changes have only been made to try to bring a different perspective and to try to raise performance. That's always the goal!
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