IT might seem strange to some people, but this weekend’s Clipsal 500 in Adelaide will be a race of economy, rather than outright speed. This year they have dropped the fuel tank capacity to 75 litres with only the endurance rounds having 120-litre tanks, so we really have to watch our economy.

In the Mid-East we were able to get away with one full fuel stop and a splash-and-dash, but this will probably be more like two full stops and a quick one before the final dash to the flag.

Unfortunately, because we have the new Chev engine, we are still trying to come to terms with our fuel economy. In fact, we cut things way too fine in the first race in Abu Dahbi and the engine started coughing as soon as I crossed the line.

We definitely stretched the envelope further than we wanted to, but our aggressive strategy worked for us. I actually didn’t think I would get back to the pits and I had both my race engineer Jeromy (Moore) and (team principal) Roland (Dane) on the radio to me making sure I drove the car back as slow as I could. Basically we were running on fumes. I don’t think we’ll push it that close this time.

We are still learning about our brand new Chev engine so teams like FPR, HRT, SBR and DJR will be better prepared than us. We also don’t have any spare engines to test economy, so we are doing that as we race. We’ve been too busy getting things up and running to have the time to get any spare engines built.

The race should be interesting as there will be times when we will need to conserve fuel and be flexible in our fuel stop strategy. So it could end up being an economy run, depending on the pace of the race. Apart from fuel, tyre life should be ok because of the cooler temps.

But here’s the interesting thing about tyres: Under a new rule the guys that are outside the top 15 in the championship get two extra practice sections and two extra sets of tyres for those sessions. That means they get a head start on track condition and car set-up.

It wouldn’t normally be an issue, but Garth Tander has had such a dreadful start to the season he is outside the top 15 and gets the advantage of the new rule, so watch out for his comeback this weekend.

I consider Adelaide the toughest race of the year, usually because it is quite hot and everyone is keyed up for the first race of the year. However, with the weather being cooler and having four races under our belt already, the drivers will be a lot cooler and calmer. It’s still going to be a tough event with a 78-lap race each day over a narrow street circuit with its bumps, kerbs, concrete walls and blind corners. It’s totally different from the fast, flowing and open tracks we’ve just come from.

I love the Adelaide track, but it deserves the utmost driver respect and requires a lot of commitment. An example is the infamous turn eight which you take in fifth gear at 230km/h-plus. You have to be precise, have the car attitude correct and approach it the same way every lap or you end up running into a concrete wall.

My record at Adelaide has been very inconsistent over the past few years. We’ve generally had a good first race but developed issues in race two like the power steering failure we suffered when I was running second last year.So consistency will be my strategy this year.

While my attention will be on the Adelaide circuit, many race fans, including me, will also be interested to see what’s happening in Bahrain this weekend with Michael Schumacher returning to F1. It should be one of the most exciting events in motorsport this year.

I’m interested to see how the seven-times world champion will cope with the new rules and technologies after three years out of the cockpit. His retirement was a personal choice as was his return. As a race driver I’m sure when it’s time for me to retire I will still have the bug to continue in some form of racing. But the Schu is stepping back into the ultimate level of motorsport in terms of fitness, technology and commitment.

Meanwhile, this is the year Mark Webber has to step up. He is in the best position of his career to win the championship but there are about four others who also have the potential. Should be a great F1 year.