[0:10]Valtteri, we've come outside the airport about 45 minutes in Adelaide. Where are we? We are in my Australian base, at the Vineyard Retreat in McLaren Vale, South Australia. This place is vast. It's good size, yeah. I like it.
[0:26]This may be the daftest question anyone's ever asked you, but why did you move here? Why not? Well, it's, to me this is paradise. You know, you got, I, I, I feel like I have everything I need here. It's so nice to have a place in Australia. My better half Tiffany is from Australia and yeah, I've been looking for a place for a couple of years now. It's not a bad holiday home, I have to say. I've had worse backdrops for interviews. Have you? Yes. I mean, this is amazing. This is absolutely stunning. For me, it's the dream. And yeah, I know. It's for me as well, it's probably one of my favorite views in the world. This is all going to be harvested tomorrow, I hear. Yes. Some were harvested few days ago. You see they're pretty right. You want to try one? Yeah. Oh, wow. That is really good. What type are these? This is red wine, Grenache. And these were actually planted almost 70 years ago. Wow. Yeah. So and they call Australian wine the new world wine. The new world. Yeah. I watched the video the other day of you talking about how being with Cadillac you've been able to get involved in everything. Can you just tell me a bit more about that? What sort of things you have been able to do? Well, I've never been part of designing a steering wheel layout, or you know, choosing the exact buttons for the wheels and, uh, you know, example, choosing the very own steering ratio I want. Stuff like that, you know. There's so much more you can do when you start as a new team, when you're not really carrying any habits or or bits from from the past. You know, you can really be part of designing everything in in a car, which is really cool.
[1:57]You've also got everything you need essentially on site, haven't you? I mean, you don't even need to go out. No, I mean, you know, I, I love cycling. You know, there's endless roads and gravel roads here. I've got my own gym in the shed. The beach is 15, 20 minutes away, as well. That way and, um, yeah, paradise. I guess with you and Checo, there is so much feedback going back towards the team. I mean your progression rate should be quite steep, shouldn't it, hopefully? It should be and I I think it will be, you know. We've already come a long way from from the first shakedown. It's gonna be pretty rapid improvement from here. And me and Checo from every session, there's always pretty long list of things we we can do better. You were both with teams when they were dominating both watching it happen. So I guess there is a lot you can bring to Cadillac actually from that experience. Do you two ever talk about that, about those times? We do. You know, I think we've both seen a lot in the sport, you know, we've seen what works with a good team, we've also both seen what doesn't quite work, you know. So we've seen the good and bad. We, uh, I think we have good understanding on what the team needs, what the car needs, how the team needs to operate to to be at the best level. So I think together, also with the mindset that we both have that we are definitely putting the team first instead of us, that's gonna hopefully help us to improve quicker. So no number two drivers in your team? No number twos. Or you could say there's no number twos, then both we are both number twos. Yeah. You've bought a little bit of Finland to Australia because I don't reckon there are many Australians who have a sauna in their garden. I don't think so. It could be the only one in the region. But yeah, finish sauna. I thought it's a must. I just grew up using sauna like pretty much every day. And for me it's a place to relax, kind of, at the end of the day you go in, you're there with your own thoughts. And the view from in here. I don't think there can be any sauna in the world with that view. Do you ever sit here and think, I've done all right? I do. Good. Yeah. I try to do it every day. You had that time out from the sport. So did Checo. When you come back, do you come with a fresh mentality? Absolutely. You know, for me it's made a big difference. Like I appreciate being part of the sport. I appreciate the sport, everything around it much more than than before. And and especially like the racing side of it like for me the whole process on Sunday, you know, the you get ready. You jump in the car, get to the grit, you do the national anthem, you know, you just have this appreciation, um, of everything that we are so lucky to be there, you know. So, um, for me it hasn't made a huge difference and I I think it can help me in the years ahead. And this is one of the guest houses. Yes. Putting the cushions straight and everything. This is brilliant. Oh, wow. Look at that. Want to check inside? I can show you around. Yeah, definitely. Oh, I get my secret code. Uh-oh.
[4:49]I think they've changed the code. They've changed the code on you and not told you. Oh, success. Rest of it never happened. This is beautiful. You can have anything you want, including my wine. We have local eggs, bacon, soft drinks, some more wine. Do you ever come out and meet the guests? I've met a few. Yeah. Yeah. There was some actually British some like two ladies, they were British, they do like a wine block or something, or travel block. Okay. They're quite fun. I met them. I carried their bags when they checked out. No way. We will be booking in for next year. I hate to tell you. And I'm expecting you to carry my bags. You should. And anyone watching the Vineyard Retreat McLaren Vale, you're welcome.
