KAZUKI Nakajima's entry into Formula One was unexpected and eventful.

The Japanese driver got his first race in the Brazilian Grand Prix in October when Alexander Wurz announced his retirement after this year's Chinese Grand Prix.

The Williams rookie, who has since been confirmed as a Williams' race driver for the 2008 season, then qualified 19th on the grid after a mistake in qualifying and finished 10th, but not before hitting a couple of his mechanics in his first F1 pitstop in race conditions.

Nakajima, whose father Satoru was the first Japanese driver to race in F1, says: "I thought I'd remain a reserve driver for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

"It was a bit unreal. was excited. It was like a dream when I was told I would drive in Brazil," adds the 22-year-old driver who received news of his drive just 10 days before the race.

And of course, he phoned to tell dad the good news.

"He was quite happy," says Nakajima cheerfully.

But that dream soon threatened to turn into a nightmare when the then Williams test driver qualified poorly. Then came the near-distastrous first round of stops.

"I knew I had hit a mechanic, I saw them falling down," says Nakajima. But he had to block it from his mind.

"I tried not to think about it - I had to focus on the race.

SORRY

"I felt very sorry for them but my responsibility - to them and the team - was to finish the race," adds Nakajima, who pitted again without any drama and finished nine places above his starting position.

"I needed a lot of mental strength to do that and in the end, I think I succeeded."

Nakajima is looking forward to both Williams' new car as well as the scrapping of traction control.

"Next year, we will have a new car which will be totally different from the one we have this year and which should show a significant improvement in performance," says Nakajima.

"Without traction control, we will have to be careful with tyre management," explained Nakajima. Apart from that, Nakajima feels it would hardly be different, except, maybe, in wet conditions.

"The driver should be able to adapt to the driving conditions even without traction control."

Nakajima, although limited in his experience as an F1 driver, has already raced on all of the European circuits (except next year's inaugaral Valencia street curcuit) while competing in GP2 this year.

The Japanese driver is a lot friendlier than the slighly aloof and very focused Nico Rosberg, but is glad to have the German as a team-mate.

"It is really good to have Nico as a team-mate. We get along fine, he is the standard, the benchmark," says Nakajima, who laughed at the suggestion that a Hamilton-Alonso type spat may develop between the two Williams drivers.

Does he hang out with the other drivers?

"Not much," says Nakajima.

"I talk to Sebastian Vettel and Takumo Sato, but I don't mix with them. It is just good to meet them in track but not really in a social situation," he said.

Could he imagine himself in a situation outside of Formula One?

"Personally, I like to watch the race, so I think somehow or other, I'd be in motorsport."

He had admired seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher before coming into F1.

"I spent a lot of time watching him, and his achievements in F1 are so far unparallelled," said Nakajima.

When not driving an F1 car, the Japanese rookie enjoys playing football, like his hero Schumacher, although of late he has precious little time for that pursuit.

"I like Barcelona a lot, but I hardly have time to watch football," he says.

In fact, he has little time for anything outside of Formula One.

He has visited many cities all over the world, but has had very little time to experience much of any of these.

"The problem is, everytime I go to a city, I go to the racetrack, and then it's back to the hotel," he says.

"My friends would ask me if I had any fun in any of the cities, and I'd tell them it's just work," he says.

About the most interesting thing he did recently was in Shanghai during the Chinese Grand Prix.

"I did a Friday drive for Williams, and then I had some free time. So I went to the city - to have dinner!"

His tight schedule as a test driver last season will become even more hectic now that he is race driver: He'll have commitments to sponsors' activities apart from his work on the track.

But he hopes to do well next year.

"There are no specific targets set, but I hope to be in the points and finish within the top 10 in the drivers championship," says Nakajima.

Is he bothered by comparisons to his famous father?

"Comparisons will be made, but my dad raced in a different time. It was a completely different world from the one we're in now," said Kazuki in fluent English.