“I feel 100% a Yamaha rider in my heart. I had a long career and raced with several factory bikes, but the highlight of my career is undoubtedly with Yamaha.”

I have so much respect for my opponents; many of them watched the races as little children and were supporting me!

If I test the car for a year I can be quite competitive the next season.

In my opinion we are at the limit now, and 17 races is really too much. With all the testing that we do now, it means we’re always on the bike and it’s quite difficult.

You look at Moto3, the races are very exciting. Moto2 is fantastic, and then MotoGP is boring.

The great fights with your strongest rivals are always the biggest motivation. When you win easily it’s not the same taste.

Maybe if Graziano make another work or another sport I wouldn’t have had this passion to be a rider.

To win the Championship in the first year will be hard. We need time to become competitive and win races.

My approach to the races hasn’t changed in my 20-year career. If I have the chance to attack and to pass, I do it, trying to get the best possible result.

I have won on Honda and Yamaha so maybe it is interesting to win with a third team, Ducati, who are Italian.

I’m lucky because I don’t feel too much pressure – it’s only in the last hour before the race, and even then it’s good, positive pressure.

In 2009, I didn’t like that Yamaha signed such a young and competitive teammate [Jorge Lorenzo]. But now everything is different. We are more mature. Everyone knows his role and position. Things are clear.

I’m very happy because I won a lot. I’ve won races and lived in a world that just gave me joy, so I remember it very positively.

I’m done with F1 unfortunately. I’m too old, the train has passed.

I never race for records. The motivation to try to beat the record is not enough to continue. You have to enjoy it.

Our sport is dangerous. We risk the life out there, so we need to stay calm and focused and leave all the rest out.

We have the 2004 M1 here for reference, which is useful. It worked well here last year; we won the race and always did fast lap times so it will be interesting to compare it to the new bike and it will help us to understand which parts have improved.

No offence to Nicki Minaj, but her career has essentially been a Lil’ Kim tribute

The most common misconception people have had in the past is about my own control and calculation of my career.

I take pride in working very hard. You need to understand that hard work doesn’t instantly pay off. My career grew gradually and taught me a lesson every step of the way.

I come from a long line of teachers. Not only did I not go into the family business; I had an aborted law career and I played in bands. ‘Disco Pigs’ was my first professional acting experience.

I am very career minded, and I think my personality is more suited to America. I am a working mum.

God is much more concerned about your character than your career, because you will take your character into eternity, but not your career.

It is not your career, your friends, not your possessions, it is your soul.

I want to continue to do is to help these young women be successful. You don’t just say goodbye at the end of their playing careers and end it there.