My parents were both actors my dad sort of quite early on. My mother acted for a while and now she's a painter.

The only time I think about life beyond F1 is when I contemplate becoming a dad. But there's no way that's going to happen while I'm still racing. To be successful in F1 you need to be very selfish in lots of ways and you're away from home for long periods. That's not the kind of father I want to be.

I listened to the radio so I was influenced by everyone from Michael Jackson to Milli Vanilli. But thankfully my dad had a collection of Cat Stevens albums while my mom was listening to jazz.

My mum always told me I was precious while my dad always told me I was worthless. I think that's a good grounding for a balanced life.

But while mum and dad were incredibly caring it was also a very chaotic household where everyone fought about everything. So I know what it's like to internalize all that chaos.

Barack Obama knows that to create an economy built to last we need to focus on middle-class families. Families who stay up on Sunday nights pacing the floor like my dad did while their children tucked in bed dream big dreams. Families who aren't sure what Monday morning will bring but who believe our nation's best days are still ahead.

I was always embarrassed because my dad wore a suit and my mother wore flat pumps and a cozy jumper while my friends' parents were punks or hippies.

My dad's a beautiful man but like a lot of Mexican men or men in general a lot of men have a problem with the balance of masculinity and femininity - intuition and compassion and tenderness - and get overboard with the macho thing. It took him a while to become more I would say conscious evolved.

When I was 18 I thought my father was pretty dumb. After a while when I got to be 21 I was amazed to find out how much he'd learned in three years.

There has to be this pioneer the individual who has the courage the ambition to overcome the obstacles that always develop when one tries to do something worthwhile especially when it is new and different.