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How important is A1GP on the CV of a young racing driver?

I think it is a fantastic opportunity, partly because you're representing your country and I think that has a much bigger resonance with drivers than maybe we realise. Another significant advantage is that you're gaining an opportunity to drive a very competitive, powerful, single seater, in which the emphasis is not on money; it's on your ability and that of the team to get the best out of that car on a level playing field with everyone else.

Probably the most significant benefit is that A1GP is what I would describe as a winter series by European standards, with the majority of the racing - apart from the three European races - being held in and around the equator or in the southern hemisphere. So young drivers, when their summer season finishes, what do they do to keep themselves race sharp, race fit and simply motor racing? I wish I'd had that opportunity when I was starting my career!

Where do you think A1GP stands in relation to series such as GP2 and its new Asian winter series?

I'm not entirely clear as to what the format of that Asia series is going to be. I understand that, fundamentally, it's for drivers from that area as opposed to the regular GP2 drivers. I think in terms of GP2, it's very similar in concept: it's a one-make series, standardised chassis, engine and gearbox. It's to provide the foundation for young drivers to be able to move forward into Formula One. What I would like to see is an A1GP driver make that next transition - and there are some drivers I feel will make that transition.

Like who?

I think that (2006/07 champion Nico) Hulkenberg in particular is someone that everybody would have on their list. But there's a lot of talent out there; I mean, Oliver Jarvis, as a British driver, has got talent, ability and he's also got a character and a personality which is a very conducive one in terms of the ability to interact within a team. Because today being a grand prix driver isn't simply about being a fast driver, you have to have other values.

If you take the extreme example: Lewis Hamilton. There's a young man in his first year in Formula One who is utterly and completely at ease with the situation he's in, in spite of all the pressures that he's under, and yet he can smile, he can talk to a camera, he can talk to journalists - you have to have those qualities.

In a perfect world, would you like to see the top racing drivers in the world contest a series such as A1GP?

When I started my professional career back in 1970, I embarked on a season of European Formula Two and in those days F2 was made up of people like myself - rookies - and established drivers, people like Jochen Rindt, Jacky Ickx, Jackie Stewart and Jack Brabham - the Formula One stars of the day were permitted to race in F2. It was a good opportunity for them to get a lot of racing, and it was also how they made their living.

I would find it very interesting - and you would find it quite surprising - to see what would happen if you took six drivers from F1, placed them in an A1GP car, and then took the six most competitive A1GP drivers. I promise you, I wouldn't know how to call it. F1 drivers have become accustomed to driving cars which have such different levels of grip and horsepower, and it's never easy to come back to a lower level; it's always easier to move upwards into a higher level.

It's purely academic I know - it's never going to happen - but, frankly, I would say that over half the F1 field, if you suggested that they would have to go back into an A1GP car, they'd probably have to go to hospital in shock....because they would be thrashed!

In some respects some of the (F1) drivers would be up for it, but of course the teams they're contracted to would have no interest in them doing that. It's something that would have happened about 30 years ago...and would be a lovely thing to see, but I suspect too many vested interests would say 'No!'

You regularly test A1GP cars. How do they compare with the F1 cars you competed in?

I would say in overall performance there's not much difference. I mean, the A1GP engine develops more horsepower and it would also have more torque. But in overall lap times or performance it's probably fairly similar to the cars that I would have raced. In some circumstances it might be quicker and in some it might be slightly slower but in overall terms it's very similar - it's in the same sort of zone of performance to the sort of car I might have raced in a grand prix in 1983.

The cars do have an aesthetic that's similar to F1 cars from 25-30 years ago, but missing from the current breed...

That's because the A1GP car is not burdened with all the multitude of carbon fibre turning vanes and god knows whatever else. The car is effectively pretty clean in its appearance and it doesn't need to have bits of bodywork hanging off bits of bodywork....hanging off bits of bodywork! The way technology has driven F1 cars is only a function of the budgets teams have. It isn't necessary to provide what I call entertaining motor racing, and that's what A1GP does. The beauty of an A1GP car is that the aerodynamics are uncomplicated - and deliberately so.

Do you think A1GP's 'THINK greener racing' initiative (starting this season with cars now using biofuel) is of merit?

There is an effort being made and I think the fact we're using a 35 percent ethanol/petroleum mix...it's a beginning. The A1GP 'Think' campaign and the running of bio-ethanol fuel are not suddenly going to stop global warming, but at least it shows an awareness of the issues and that they're being addressed. I think that's the most important aspect: that we are aware and we are addressing it.