Charlie Kimball Quotes

From GP3 to Formula 2, it's obviously a step, but it's only a step on driving I would say. Here from Formula 2 to Formula 1, it's a huge step on driving because we have nearly 400 BHP more, with a lot more downforce. So it's a completely different 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.

It was an unbelievable experience! The brakes, the g-forces and the power of the engine are beyond description. Thanks to BMW and WilliamsF1 for giving me this chance to test. The test team looked after me brilliantly and I learnt plenty.

The first race is really just something that we will all need to get through. Until people see the cars in action I don't think they will understand how quick they will be, which means they are going to be tiring to drive.

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.

And when we go from braking to accelerating to cornering, the G-forces we pull are really demanding on our bodies. We definitely have to be in top shape.

Nothing's ever too fast. Maybe sometimes on the road some people are too fast if they don't know how to control the car, but in racing, the faster and more power and grip, the better it is.

There are no drivers like Formula One drivers. They are engineers, in a way. They are driving manual cars one-handed at 200 miles per hour around streets in Monaco. These cars use the ultimate in technology.

To understand the intensity of driving an F1 car, you have to be in it. When you're driving a 750hp machine at 200mph, the noise and the vibrations are incredible. The G-force when you take big corners is like someone trying to rip your head off. You hit the brakes, and it feels as if the skin is being pulled off your body.

When you walk the track and you see a corner and realise you were going round it at 160mph, you wonder who could be so stupid to take a corner at that speed. But in the car, you don't even think about that.

I train to quite an intense level because Formula 1 is so physical - the G-forces, the demands on your body. Your heart rate is 150, 160 through the whole race. On qualifying lap, your heart rate can be up to 180, 190, under tough conditions.

I like high speed corners, but with the F111, it is taking a little time to build up to that.

I'd be a race car driver. I love fast cars.

It takes a little time to return to a Formula One car after 15 months away and to get back in the rhythm again, but after about 20 laps, I was feeling really comfortable and enjoying myself.

Bobsledding is like sprinting with NASCAR. You get to push these 400-pound sleds as fast as you can down a hill and hop in. How could you not enjoy that?

I think it's impossible to drive a Formula One car with one hand.

We share the emotions of driving race cars. It's cool to have a dad who understands what you mean when you talk about oversteer or traction. But it's not a help at the race.

You get such a visceral thrill driving a race car. You think you've driven, and then you're like, 'Oh, I was doing something for 20 years that I didn't realize I hadn't experienced the real version of.'

It's real easy to sit on your couch and point fingers and say, 'So-and-so did something wrong...'. But until you are out there in these cars at these speeds and seeing all the near-misses and what is really going on, it is not worth forming an opinion.

They say you only go around once, but with a muscle car you can go around two or three times.

The driver of a racing car is a component. When I first began, I used to grip the steering wheel firmly, and I changed gear so hard that I damaged my hand.

When it's wet, you're much more tense on the steering wheel, you have to dance with the throttle and the brakes more. Each lap is a different scenario, so you're really on the edge of your nerves. One mistake could cost you the entire race.

Indy car racing is much more aggressive.

I've always been attracted to cars, and driving is a completely measurable experience: if you qualify last on the grid, you're the slowest, and if you qualify first on the grid, you're the fastest. So no one can say you're slow if you're fast and no one can say you're fast if you're slow.

When I turned 16, I got my driver's license like the rest of my classmates, but I also got an extra present: a two-day practice session in a Formula Ford: my first open-wheel racing car and the first step on the ladder toward becoming a professional driver.