After years of preparing to make my Formula 1 debut, last weekend's GP2 race at the Sochi circuit in Russia could be best described as "resetting myself." Most GP2 drivers are doing everything in their power to be ready for their F1 debut, and I had the interesting scenario of actually having to return to GP2 after doing back-to-back F1 races.

The transition was actually helpful because being able to draw from the F1 races with Manor Marussia at Singapore and Japan—with a lot of track time and long races, you pick up some new habits in F1 that translate quite nicely in GP2.

It's little things you pick up that the F1 car needs that can help in everything else, and that's why I made it a priority to go back down to Spain after Japan and work with the Racing Engineering team to get in the Sim and re-immerse myself in GP2.

If I'm honest, I just wanted to forget about F1 and get focused on GP2 again because we were going for the championship, and even if the chances were slim to come away with the title, I only wanted to show up in Sochi fully prepared for GP2. That was how I approached our preparation leading into Russia, and I also watched some of my recent GP2 races to go one step further to get in the right mindset for the weekend.

The event opened just as I had hoped and we scored a great win on Saturday. I think the biggest thing that improved for me after the F1 races was my ability to do one timed performance lap. That's really a big part of what's asked of you in F1, and that's where I think I grew the most. You pull out of the pits, and once you come around the start/finish line that first time, you're expected to be at 100 percent for one complete lap, give the car everything you have, and the team all of the feedback they want in the span of one lap. It's quite intense, and it's a lot of what I was asked to do at Singapore and Japan.

I'd also say that while it helped in certain phases of the weekend, it wasn't something that gave me an advantage. It rained during qualifying, so putting it to use didn't come to pass, but I noticed how that part of my driver tools evolved.

The other thing that jumped out from being in F1 was handling pressure.

GP2 is always filled with pressure because there's so much talent there and you always need to perform, but having tasted what it's like in F1, going back to GP2 was a lot more fun. I'm not saying I haven't been having fun in GP2; that's not the case. But after you learn to deal with the type of pressure that's in F1, I think everything else you do feels pretty relaxed. I was that little bit more calm in every GP2 session, and I think it made a difference.

The win on Saturday felt like a continuation of where we've been as a team. Obviously winning in Spa and Monza has allowed us to find things in the car that help, and I know you hear it all the time in racing, but I've seen that it really is a case where getting your first win has made it easier to get the next one and the next one. I don't know why it's that way, but that's how it feels.

Saturday fell into place nicely for us, but with the rain shortening the race distance, points were reduced and that settled the championship. I had hoped to keep the fight going a little longer, but it wasn't realistic to think we were going to win. The best part was the team really turned a page after we had a horrendous weekend in Hungary, and since then, we've taken a new approach to car setup and it continues to pay off. My confidence has gone up with each win, and Racing Engineering's success has been a manifestation of confidence and effort from throughout the team.

It was cool to see the Manor Marussia team racing in Sochi, but I was fully focused on GP2. It might have looked weird from the outside—seeing the car I just drove going around without me, but it wasn't really a consideration. I knew I had a job to do and was completely obligated to Racing Engineering, and while I kept tabs on how my F1 guys did in the sessions, I only watched the F1 race on Sunday after our jobs were done in GP2. There were no mixed emotions being in Sochi for GP2, and getting my third win was a great feeling.

And now I get to transition back to F1 for the next four weeks and go the opposite direction where GP2 is put on hold. My next F1 race is at home in America at COTA and I can't even imagine what it will be like to take the start in Texas.

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