Two days on, are you still basking in the glow of what you've done?
Absolutely. It was a very special day. Personally, for me it was very nice but the fact that the team also got another one-two seems to have got ignored, but that was also very important. We've made the most out of the last couple of races, in which we couldn't have done better. I'd had two second places, so I knew the momentum was with me and now I've got the win. It's just great to finally get the victory.

On Saturday night, after taking pole you said, "now we'll try and get this monkey off my back." Is the sense of relief almost bigger than the sense of achievement?
That's probably true. I've done a lot of races and for a huge majority of them, I didn't have a chance of winning because the car wasn't up to it and also, they featured a guy called Michael Schumacher and he tended to do a bit of damage himself. In that era, you needed to be in a Ferrari or a McLaren. Now, in this new era of F1, there are other teams in the mix and I am very happy that the situation with Red Bull Racing means we are in a position to challenge for podiums and wins at every grand prix, as long as we get things right.

You had almost 100 well wishing texts prior to the race. Did that give you extra pressure?
I had around 80 or 90 after qualifying and maybe 160 after the race. I didn't know so many people had my bloody number! But, to be honest, I was pretty relaxed going into the race. I was keen for it to be dry, because that would mean fewer decisions to be made. I felt we probably had the Brawns covered and that my real opposition was going to be Sebastian maybe at some point in the race. Then the race exploded pretty quickly with drivers like Heikki (Kovalainen) in the mix and my drive-through penalty. But after around lap 40, I knew I just had to stay on it and bring the car home.

Some drivers, Mansell and Hakkinen for example, took a long time to get win number one, but after that they were unstoppable. Allowing for the fact they obviously had competitive cars, do you feel it's unlocked a door and winning could get easier now?
I've now crossed the uncharted waters of pole position and a victory, so that can only help. It can't be a hindrance, that's for sure. To lead and not be the chaser was a first for me. I hope that the momentum can continue, even if there is no doubt there will be some tough races in the future. But getting this first win means that when it's close, the races might seem more straightforward for me.

You flew back Sunday. Were there any celebrations?
I think I made a bit of a schoolboy error. We got back to the UK late on Sunday night and the downside was that Australia was just waking up, so having dealt with all the press here in Europe, I then had to deal with my home continent. I was flat out from nine in the evening 'til two in the morning, as so many people were getting in touch to congratulate me. I couldn't bring myself to switch my phone off, so there wasn't much sleep, that's for sure.