“People look at it and say: ‘You’ve got the money to do it’,” Chilton said,
“but my Dad has always said ‘I’ll get you to as high as I can but F1 I can’t
do’. I’m sure he could stretch [himself] and do it but he doesn’t want to.
He’s managed to find two sponsors. They are British, which is good. We could
have four Brits on the grid next year and two more British sponsors.
“It’s not silly money. And I haven’t got a seat yet. But my family and my Dad
don’t have to spend a penny. Hopefully people will learn that it’s not from
the family, it’s from sponsors.”
Funding issues aside, Chilton is naturally buzzing at the prospect of sharing
a track with drivers he watched growing up. He was only born in 1991, the
year Michael
Schumacher made his Formula One debut.
“It’s going to be weird being on track at the same time as him,” he admitted.
“I think [Schumacher] is the most daunting although there are probably a few
more I would rather not get in the way of because of the way they would
react.”
He is confident, though, that he can give a good account of himself, admitting
his main goal will be to provide decent feedback while not making any
glaring errors. To that end, he has been up at night mugging up on his
‘Drivers’ Manual’, which lists the mind-boggling procedures necessary to
operate a Formula One car.
“It’s nerve-racking,” he admitted. “But you can only step up to Formula One if
you feel ready in yourself. Over the last two years I have really grown in
confidence and I have shown I have got the speed.”