Six events down, 10 to go and with a small break before Darwin we thought it was a good moment to grab our drivers for a quick debrief and a look ahead to the back half of the year.

First up was Anton, who gave us his thoughts on his rookie season so far…

Anton, how’s your first season treating you?

ADP: It’s treating me really good. It’s been very busy racing basically every second weekends since the end of March, plus all the off-track activities we do. It all feels natural though, so it’s been easy to settle in.

The main game certainly comes with a lot more off-track activities, have you enjoyed them?

ADP: Yeah, we’re always busy. We’ve done some pretty cool things, like appearances at the rugby and things you wouldn’t normally do. Signing sessions are pretty intense with the amount of people as well but you just value what you’ve got. There’s certainly worse things I could be doing; I really enjoy it.

What has been your stand out moment so far, on track?

ADP: I think it would have to be our first top ten qualifying at the Grand Prix, then Phillip Island as a whole. Saturday was the better day of the two, but overall that was our best weekend so far and it set our expectations a bit higher.

What’s the next thing you’re looking forward to?

ADP: Practice 1 at Darwin, I just want to get back in the car.

Have you gelled well with your new team? They’re a pretty great bunch of blokes aren’t they?

ADP: They are great; really friendly which made the process of settling in very easy, but also very passionate about what they do. David is good value too, he’s a lot of help to me and is doing very well, the better he goes the better I go usually.

What would you say is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt this year?

ADP: That I can tell you? I don’t want to give any secrets away. *Insert motivational quote here*

It’s early days of course, but there have been some moments of brilliance so far. Is this where you saw yourself at this point of the season?

ADP: I didn’t think I’d be sitting in your office at 3pm on a Wednesday. Seriously though, I think we’re always trying to aim for that top ten and I think that’s where everyone is aiming. It’s very close though so if you can get in there within your first season you’re doing a good job. I didn’t set many expectations going into the year, I just wanted to bridge the gap to Dave as much as I can and it seems that every weekend we are.

What about the tracks that are new for you this year? What’s that been like?

ADP: It’s only been Grand Prix so far, but Darwin and Auckland are the other two if you don’t include Tailem Bend. A lot of my career has been the same, a lot of new tracks, new countries, so you work out your own way of learning and getting on with it as quick as possible. You do your sim work, you do your research, and try imagine that you’ve been there before and you do as you would and try not to worry about it.

There’s been a lot of band memes thrown around pit lane lately, what would be your soundtrack to the season?

ADP: Oh I reckon I started that trend. This morning I listened to Kanye West – All of the Lights, that’s a cool song. Does that suit? That’s the last song I listened to, and it mentions fast cars. It’s got to be cool because we’re cool!

What are your hopes for the rest of the season?

ADP: Aim for more top tens, then as we progress and get further into it, go further up the grid again.

Lastly, can you describe 2018 in one word?

ADP: Unreal.