After karting in Venezuela, I came to Europe in 1998 to compete in international kart races, which was great for me to get experience racing outside my country. After consistently being at the top, I decided to move to Italian Formula Renault.
I have a lot of great racing memories growing up in Europe as a young boy - playing with car parts on my dad's desk, watching the races on Sunday afternoons to try and spot him on TV, even having the chance to go to Formula 1 races where he was working.
I think there's a lot of deep-rooted history in England with racing. Lots of Formula One teams are based there. Formula One is obviously a huge sport over in England and Europe.
The European drivers have adapted to this circuit extremely quickly, especially Paul Radisich who's a New Zealander.
I raced locally for a year, went to Europe the year after and went to the Olympics the year after that.
You know, I think in Europe NASCAR is not regarded as high as it should.
When Ron Howard does 'Rush,' he has to learn and steep himself in F1 culture and European racing culture, and that's part of the fun of the gig. You learn to learn. Your real skill as a director is being a learner and an observer. You're constantly learning another thing in context.
If I want to go to Europe and get thrashed by the Europeans, that's my business. Every race I lose I learn from and get tougher.
