Thanks to MB Partners, I had the opportunity to have an interview with Gary Paffett. It was a pleasure to interview the DTM 2005 champion and my boyhood hero.
Q: How do you feel your current season is going with your new team, ART?
Gary: It’s been a difficult start to the year. We have had some teething troubles and the team have got a lot of stuff to get used to so it’s been tough. On a positive note, we are generally on the pace with the HWA Mercedes cars so they have got to grips with the car setup very quickly.
Q: Do you feel you can mount a possible title challenge this season?
Gary: Looking at our pace compared to the Audi’s in the first two races they look very tough to beat. We seem to be a little bit ahead of the BMWs but have a bit of work to do before we can think about winning the championship.
Q: Despite winning the DTM title in 2005 and coming close on a few occasions since, would you say you’re in the prime of your career?
Gary: I feel that I have gained a lot of experience even in the last two years which have been very tough, and don’t feel I have lost any of my speed so yes I would say I am in the best shape I have ever been.
Q: Over the winter break, you ended your partnership with McLaren. Was it difficult to leave a team that you’ve had such a close connection with?
Gary: It was but everything has to come to an end at some point, and with McLaren partnering up with Honda it made it very difficult for me to continue with them given my very close relationship with Mercedes Benz.
Q: Being a Mercedes associated driver throughout your career, do you have any input into the Mercedes F1 programme given your experience? Or is your focus solely on DTM work now?
Gary: Obviously when Mercedes were a part of McLaren I was very involved with their F1 project over the years but I have not had any input into the Mercedes GP team thus far. I am fully focused on succeeding in the DTM for Mercedes, but due to the shorter schedule we have there is enough time to do something else so maybe I will be able to help them out in the future.
Q: Lastly, Do you see yourself ending your career in the DTM series? Or does another series interest you at some point?
Gary: I still have some other series I would like to drive in so I don’t think that I will finish my racing career in the DTM. At some point I would like to do some endurance racing and possibly another form of touring car series but that’s a way off yet.
I would like to thank Gary for his time and MB Partners for helping to secure this interview.
