Ferrari’s reserve driver on his dogs and forbidden sporting passions
Watching my brother Thomas race
Racing is my biggest passion. It’s what I love most. So I watch it all: not just F1, but also the WEC, ELMS, GTs, all the lower-formula categories – and my brother’s karting races. He’s competing in the European and British championships now, and that’s the most nervous I get when I’m watching any race – because it’s my brother, of course. But it’s also very entertaining, because karting always provides good and tough battles, so it’s super-interesting.
Tennis
This is a new hobby of mine. I went to the Monte Carlo Masters in April and really enjoyed it. Then I went to the final of the Barcelona Open and after Silverstone I’m going to Wimbledon to watch some matches. So I’m really looking forward to it, it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Dogs
I grew up around dogs. When I was born we had a huge Siberian Husky – she was bigger than me for a long time – so I’ve always been very comfortable around dogs. Now we have two dogs, an English Bull Terrier and a Boston Terrier. They’ve been with us for six and three years now – and I love seeing them. I miss them a lot because they’re in the UK and I’m in Italy. They’re really, really cool.
Travelling
I love seeing new places. It’s one of the perks of the job, I guess, because I do a lot of it. But even in my spare time I like to explore new locations, even if they’re close by. In Italy I like to go to the mountains. I like to go to places I’ve never been before. And, being part of the F1 parade, you get to enjoy a bunch of cool places that you wouldn’t normally have gone to. I’ve never been to Mexico, I’ve never been to China, I’ve never been to Australia – so it was really, really cool to go there with F1.
Mauritius
We went there on holiday a couple of years ago. Tiny island, but it’s just incredible! So much great scenery. You know, there’s a volcano that’s not active anymore, of course, but it’s very impressive. We also went on some boat trips to some islands nearby, I saw dolphins and sharks – and we went deep-sea fishing too. It’s a country I really enjoyed visiting and I’m definitely going back.
Singing
Let’s get this out of the way: I’m an awful singer. But I do love to sing. I’ll never sing on stage, but I’m one
