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The years I raced in were fantastic. There was so much change in the cars. We went from treaded tyres to no wings right through to slicks to enormous wings.

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.

Winning at Monaco feels unbelievable, because it's such a special race and it's also my home race. My first memories were of watching Ayrton Senna here with his yellow helmet, and one day dreaming to win the Monaco GP.

Winning in Monaco is always special. That track has always been good to me. I won there in Formula 3000, battled for the victory with Williams in 2006 and now I've won two of the last three grands prix there.

I raced locally for a year, went to Europe the year after and went to the Olympics the year after that.

I love driving at Monaco but the rest of it, well, I can absolutely take it or leave it. It's extremely pretentious and really not my cup of tea.

The facilities are amazing here in McLaren. If you compare them to Sauber, who have good facilities in Formula 1, it's another level. But in terms of the people, the way they approach their jobs, is really amazing when you come into McLaren. The emphasis they have is very good and it gives you a big boost when you drive for this team.

I raced in London in the 2012 Olympics, and it was incredible to be a part of, with half a million people watching and then later seeing kids going back to cycle.

I remember my father's last race very clearly when he drove at Hockenheim in front of 100,000 people and I was sitting next to him on the roof of his car and waving to the fans. That was the moment when I thought: 'One day I want to do the same.'

Although I come from the world of swimming... my strong point is the running race, and it is the one I enjoy the most. It's where I have had a slight edge over my rivals.