Interview with Fernando Alonso

 

 

With seven races left in the Formula 1 Championship Fernando Alonso asks the team

 to remain concentrated to fight race after race for the World Title.

 

Interview with Fernando Alonso

www.ferrari.com

 

 

Fernando Alonso Q&A: It’s not too late to fight for the title

 

22 Jul 2010 via www.formula1.com

 

It would be easy for Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso to feel downhearted at the moment. After two trying races in Valencia and Silverstone, Alonso is currently fifth in the standings, 47 points adrift of leader Lewis Hamilton. But with the F10 responding well to its updates, the determined Spaniard has not given up hope of clinching the title…

Q: Fernando, you have endured a tough couple of races. Is the title still within your grasp?
Fernando Alonso: I think it’s not too late, as there are nine races to go, with many points still on the table. We will try to do the maximum possible and take points more regularly. To leave Valencia and Silverstone with so few points didn’t show our real potential, and we are definitely in a better position than the championship standings suggests. 

Q: In you experience, is it possible for a team to treat two drivers equally when they are fighting for the championship?
FA: It is possible. You just need to find the best way to manage the situation. 

Q: Has this season been harder than you expected it to be?
FA: No, not harder but more or less what we expected. There is tough competition with Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes. Renault was a surprise at many races too. We were talking all winter long that four teams would be winning races and fighting for the championship. And this is the case, with two Red Bulls, two McLarens, two Ferraris, one Mercedes and one Renault all fighting.

Q: You have had some ups and downs during your career. How frustrated are you feeling?
FA: There have been some frustrating moments in the last two races. We had a good weekend in Valencia and left Valencia with four points. We had a very good weekend in Silverstone and ended the race with zero points. I am quite frustrated that I’ve not been able to stay out of trouble and avoid certain problems. But I am very confident that I am still able to fight for the championship, as the car has improved a lot. I’m very happy with the car now. I’m even more motivated and more confident than before. Sure the gap between me and the leader has increased, but the car is improving race by race and now there is the possibility to be on the podium regularly. I think we are very strong so I have more confidence now. 

Q: Are there any updates on the car for this weekend’s race?
FA: Yes, there will be new developments on the car. Getting pole position or winning the race will be difficult as Red Bull still has an advantage, but we will work to close the gap so that we finally can fight with them. My prediction is that this weekend will be very tricky, as we will have a totally different tyre situation from what we have had all season long. So it will be more difficult to manage the balance of the car. There are many factors that will decide who wins this weekend. 

Q: Did you think that Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher would be stronger than he is at the moment?
FA: I think we all expected more competition from Michael. It is true that Mercedes is performing as well as we all thought. They had some problems at some races, but even so Nico is doing a really good job and taking a lot of points. But it is only the first half of the season and I expect Michael to be stronger in the second half. I don’t think that Michael has any problems – he’s just adapting to the car. 

Q: How angry were you in the car at Silverstone? You told your engineer not to talk to you anymore. Do you feel that the drive-through penalty was a fair punishment?
FA: In Silverstone I was not angry. The race was basically over. I was in P18 with 15 laps to go so there was no chance of recovering and therefore no reason to be angry. I had switched off from that race and had begun to think about Germany when I said that on the radio. I started to take care of the gearbox and the engine. There was nothing more to do. The penalties are always fair. They decide what they see and there’s nothing we can do. We just have to do better next time. This is in the past and hopefully here in Germany we’ll have a trouble-free weekend and take more points than at the previous races. 

Q: Your missed opportunities at the last two races benefited others. To catch up in the standings do you need the others to miss opportunities, or can you do it on your own?
FA: I think we can do it our own. We just need to have consistent races. If we’d had a normal race in Valencia and a normal race in Silverstone, I wouldn’t be 47 points behind. I would probably be leading the championship now.

 

 

 

Q & A – “I couldn’t imagine that Ferrari was so exciting”

 

 

 

 Link

 

 

 Alonso interviewed by Corriere della Sera: “I couldn’t imagine that Ferrari was so exciting”

 

www.ferrari.com

 

 

Q & A with Fernando Alonso by autosport.com

 

 

By Pablo Elizalde   After three difficult races in Australia, Malaysia and China, Fernando Alonso arrives in Spain next week for what he reckons is the real start of the championship. And the Spanish driver is bullish his Ferrari team will be up there fighting. AUTOSPORT heard from Alonso during a media event for sponsor Santander. Q. How do you judge the car so far and what is the situation with the engine problems? Fernando Alonso: The car is fine. For one reason or another we haven’t managed to score as many points as we wanted, but I think we are going to have a good car again in Barcelona. I’m not worried. As for the engines, we have found the problems that we had. I know there have been things written about the valves and the air consumption system of the engine, which are completely untrue, as it usually happens. So we are quiet because we have found the problems and we’ll try to do the rest of the season with an engine that’s 100 per cent reliable. Q. Felipe Massa told Brazilian media that he thought there could have been an accident in China. What’s your point of view? FA: I don’t know what Felipe said. What’s clear is that 15 days after a race you can’t keep talking about such minuscule things, so I’m not going to answer because otherwise tomorrow we’ll have another front page and I think that’s unnecessary. Q. Is it true that Ferrari has asked the FIA to be allowed to modify its engine? FA: I don’t know what the team has asked exactly. What I know from what I’ve talked about with the engineers is that they are very confident they have solved the problems. The issues we and Sauber had were different, it wasn’t only one thing in particular, but I believe it’s solved. Q. You said in Australia that you were not worried about the result because the drivers ahead of you were not your main championship rivals. Now that Button has won two races, do you believe he’s a real contender? FA: I always respect all my rivals. Even so, I believe there are rivals you have to have more under control and others you can give a certain margin to. I’ve always said that Hamilton, Vettel or Michael, Felipe are very good drivers who can fight for the title. Button didn’t win the title by chance last year, it was because he deserved it. And now he’s leading the championship on his own merit because he has done better than us, so we have to improve. All rivals are respectable, but to me there are two or three I’ll keep a closer look on. Q. After four races, what’s your feeling? Relief for having rescued points in complicated races or frustration because you could have won more races? FA: There’s always frustration on Sunday afternoon when you don’t achieve all the points you should have scored, but from a more general perspective, after a week home, these four races have been very positive. Being third in the championship, very few points away from the leader, I believe is a very good situation. With the potential that we have, with the super team that I have, this is just the beginning and I have a real chance to fight for the world championship, something I couldn’t even think about last year after four races. I’m enjoying it again, and I’ve felt that bug from winning a race or winning the championship again, and that’s the most positive thing about the start to this year. We can’t forget that last year during the final part of the season Ferrari was very far from the leaders, so there were a lot of things to confirm and many wishes to grant and they have been granted. Q. Is the real championship starting in Europe? FA: The championship always starts in the first race, but it’s true that it’s just a race to confirm the good sensations you’ve had during testing. But it’s true that in Europe it is time to show who is going to fight for the title and who isn’t. The first races can be atypical races with changing weather all the time, so now in Europe it’s the moment of truth to show who is going to be in the title fight, and also for the teams to prove they can develop faster than their rivals. It’s the start of a nice fight. Q. You said the F10 was the best car you had ever driven. Do you still stand by that? FA: Yes, I said it during the pre-season and I still believe it’s the best car I’ve very driven. It’s very good in every sense, but obviously in Formula 1 everything can be improved because engineers are inventing new parts every day. So the best car I’ve driven in my life is yet to come, and that will be the one I use in Barcelona, then in Monaco, then in Turkey. Every day it will be better. Q. Will Ferrari use the F-Duct in Barcelona? FA: We are on it. There’s nothing confirmed yet. I wish there are lots of updates for Barcelona, but it’s not an easy system to make work. I know the team is working hard so it’s available as soon as possible. Q. Will those improvements be enough to catch Red Bull in qualifying trim? FA: I think so. I believe we’ll catch them. Q. Germans seem to be disappointed with Schumacher. Is there such a feeling on the grid too? FA: No, there’s no such feeling. It’s not like we spend too much time thinking about what the others are doing, but we have a huge respect towards Schumacher and every driver on the grid knows it’s been a bad start for him, with very few points in the first races, but I believe there’s nobody ready to say the championship is over for him. We knew what he’s capable of doing so we have to respect him and we know the best is yet to come from him. Q. In the last two races there were two controversial actions from Hamilton: the weaving in Malaysia and the pitlane exit side-by-side with Vettel. He wasn’t punished for those. Do you believe Hamilton has a privileged position when judged by the FIA stewards? FA: No, I don’t think so. The decisions are perhaps not very consistent, because there will be other times when the same happens and someone gets a penalty for it. So it varies a bit, but I don’t think that’s very important. He got two warnings and maybe he will be penalised in the next race if he does something wrong. It’s like referees in football: their intention is not bad, but sometimes they make a decision and other times a different one.

Q & A with Fernando Alonso | Quote: autosport.com | Jon Noble

 

 

 

Q & A with Fernando Alonso

Credit to: Jonathan Noble  By Jonathan Noble – Friday, February 26th 2010, 17:26 GMT

Fernando Alonso wrapped up his preparations for the start of the season on Friday with a strong final testing session at Barcelona.

The Spaniard is now convinced Ferrari is very well prepared and the two-time champion is raring to go racing.

AUTOSPORT heard from the Ferrari driver at the end of the day.

Q. You have completed the seven days of testing you had. Do you have a winning car?

Fernando Alonso: I don’t know. What’s clear is that we have done a great job. The car has worked well during all the pre-season, and I was lucky with my days because I had a lot of dry days.

We made a list of things before we began testing and today we checked the final item, so I think we arrive in Bahrain having done all we could have done, with the homework done. We’ll see what happens. We don’t know how fast we are compared to our rivals, but I think we will extract 100 per cent of our potential.

Q. Did you expect to have such a quick and reliable car?

FA: I was hoping so. When you join Ferrari if you don’t expect a fast car it means there’s something wrong. I was hopeful and it’s always good to confirm that the car works well.

Q. Who will your rivals be this year?

FA: Everybody. There are a few teams who are behind, but I guess the four teams we are always speaking about: Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari. I guess those are the teams who want to fight for the title, and then there will be teams that will start the season well, like Sauber or Renault, and we’ll see how they develop. But McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull are the teams we have to look out for.

Q. You said this is the best car you’ve ever driven in F1. Do you still believe that?

FA: What I say I usually say it because that’s what I think and I can say it again. It’s the best car I’ve ever driven, but that doesn’t mean that is the best car on the grid. It’s the best car I’ve ever had but it’s impossible to know if there’s a better car until the first races, but I’m quiet, and very happy with how February has gone.

Q. How many more days would you have liked to have to test before the start of the season?

FA: The more days you test, the better, because you always find small details in the car and small adjustments that make it faster, but it’s the same amount of time for everybody and it’s good that the first race is here because I really want the championship to start.

Q. Did you do one-lap runs?

FA: Yes, we have simulated a full weekend and the car has responded well. I have no worries ahead of Bahrain.

Q. Do you expect someone to arrive in Bahrain with something which hasn’t been seen yet?

FA: I don’t think so. The rules are pretty well defined this year and all teams are following a similar line of concepts, unlike last year, so I don’t think there’s going to be any big surprises in Bahrain.

Q. Is this the season you are looking forward to the most?

FA: Every year you want the season to start, because the winter is always very intense with a lot of tests, and you want to finally face your rivals under the same conditions, in a qualifying session and see how things are. But this year, especially with the break from November to February, it has been long, but there’s little left to go to Bahrain.

Q. There’s talk that Mercedes is preparing a great diffuser for Bahrain. Are you worried about this?

FA: You are always paying attention to anything your rivals introduce, but if they take something innovative to Bahrain we’ll see what it is and I’ll answer better. Right now it’s just a rumour that I haven’t heard of.

 

 

 

 

This is the best car I’ve ever had…

 

 

 

Fernando Alonso has declared the Ferrari F10 the best car he has ever driven – and says the team is yet to show what it can really do.

Ferrari was quickest throughout the first test of the winter at Valencia a fortnight ago, but has kept a lower profile during the past fortnight at Jerez.

However Alonso has set some eye-catching times on long runs, and he ended this week’s test full of confidence.

"There are no reasons to be pessimistic," the double champion told Spanish media. "As of today, this is the best car I’ve ever had."

 

quote:autosport 22 Feb. 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

Alonso: Ferrari,and No problem with Massa

 

 

 

 

MADONNA DI Campiglio (TN), January 14, 2010 –

Translated from: www.gazzetta.it

 

Alonso: Ferrari and then nothing No problem with Massa "The new Ferrari from Madonna di Campiglio: "This is 100% on my last team. Came much better prepared than when I arrived at Renault." "Felipe?" I never asked to be treated as first pilot. And then: "Michael will not be the only rival, and his return is good for Formula 1" "This is 100% on my last team. Came much better prepared than when I arrived at Renault, I am ready for this challenge, Ferrari and known throughout the world and we must win.

 

Schumi´s return – In it´s  official Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso during the press-Wroom Ski Meeting at Madonna di Campiglio, proves that he has clear ideas, but also admits that it will be difficult to emulate Michael Schumacher.

 

"Winning seven championships I think it is difficult if not impossible in Formula 1 today. Of course I will try to win as much as possible in the coming years."

 

So his opinion on the choice of the German pilot to return to race with Mercedes:

 

"If he had this opportunity and took this decision will be because he feels ready, I´m happy, it´s a good thing for F1´s Return Schumi does only good."

 

Alonso and Felipe – "Driving the Ferrari was my childhood dream came true and now – he added the Spaniard -. It´s beautiful to be in this team, because here there is a feeling of family that is not found elsewhere"

 

Among the questions even the football on a possible rivalry between the Spanish national team and Brazil.

 

" If you prefer to win the Spain´s first world or I am the first for Ferrari? Let me think, I say this afternoon … With mass there is no problem because we can not meet in the finals, I think if we pass both the group we meet in the quarterfinals or the semifinals with Brazil and unfortunately I´m sorry, but Felipe is over." Before concluding: "I never asked to be treated as first pilot ".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fernando Alonso news via www.autosport.com

 

 

 

Fernando Alonso news via

www.autosport.com

 

 

 

Alonso ‘will never forget’ Renault spell

Q & A with Fernando Alonso

 

 

 

 

Q&A with Fernando Alonso

 

 

 

Q&A with Fernando Alonso

via paddocktalk.com

 

Fernando, you will have the chance to drive your F1 car on the streets of your hometown. You must be very excited…
Yes, it will be fantastic and definitely one of the moments of the year for me. It has been one of my dreams to drive my F1 car on the streets where I grew up in front of my family, friends and the people who have always supported me. After the difficult year we have had, it will be nice to experience something different and to celebrate the magic of Formula One. I always enjoy the roadshows, but this one will be extra special.

How many people do you think will come and watch the show?
Difficult to say but I hope as many people as possible as it will be a great day and I’m sure the fans will enjoy it. Hopefully there will be more than 100,000 people but Oviedo is quite small so they will need to come from other cities as well. It will be a nice chance for me to say ‘thank you’ to my fans for their support so I will do my best to put on a great show.

Tell us a bit about Oviedo and what it’s like?
It’s a small industrial town in the north of Spain, but it’s a beautiful area that is very green and fresh as it rains quite often. The people are friendly and most of my family and friends still live there so it’s a very special place for me.

What is your earliest memory of life in Oviedo?
I remember my school days. We lived about a kilometre from my school so I would walk there each morning with my mother or grandmother. My mother and father both worked so I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and my sister and had a very happy childhood. I also remember the times with my school mates as we used to play football and basketball together.

Did you enjoy school?
Yes, I enjoyed my school days as I liked studying and I was always well prepared for exams. I made a lot of friends at school and they remain by best friends today.

Were you in the sports’ teams at school?
Yes, I played a lot of football and I was a goalkeeper – that’s my favourite position as you don’t sweat too much!

Does your family still live in Oviedo and do you get a chance to return there often?
My family still live in Oviedo, although they now live outside the city instead of in the centre. I can’t visit Oviedo as often I would like as I live in Switzerland and I have a busy schedule with all the races and commitments during the season. I try to go back every couple of months for four or five days and I always enjoy this time as much as I can.

Your father was an amateur kart racer – how did he become interested in kart racing?
He managed to build a home-made go-kart with some friends and they enjoyed it so they started racing each other and entered the local championship of Oviedo. Then my dad built a go-kart for my sister when she was seven, but she didn’t like it so my dad put me in the kart. I was only two years old at the time and I enjoyed it so it became my go-kart.

What was that first go-kart like?
Obviously it was very small with a lot of extensions so I could reach the pedals. It was red and white as it was 1984 / 1985 and I think my father was inspired by the McLaren colours when he made the kart. We used to take it to a car park and I would drive laps, but the kart was very slow so my father could walk alongside me.

Did you dad ever race with you?
He did only one race against me when I was ten or eleven years old and he managed to beat me! But that was his last race because once he had beaten me he didn’t want to race against me anymore!

How difficult was it to follow Formula One in Spain while you were growing up?
It was very difficult and I didn’t really follow Formula One until I was sixteen or seventeen. There was no live television coverage when I was young and we didn’t have the internet coverage like there is today. So I used to watch football – the Spanish League – and that was my main entertainment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q & A with Fernando Alonso – Hungary

 By Jonathan Noble | autosport.com

 

Q. At the Nurburgring you had five fastest laps in a row. What does that mean about the performance of the Renault – do you think with no traffic early on you could have won the race?

Fernando Alonso: Maybe not win the race, but a podium position was maybe a possibility. But the biggest thing was that maybe on Saturday not being in Q3, not being in the top five or top six, I think it was the biggest problem of our race. Without that mistake [in qualifying] maybe we were in a better position.

I don’t know, those fastest laps were a surprise for us if I am honest with you. We did improve the car and we were confident in our updates, but to be fastest in the race was a complete surprise. So we need to confirm that pace here. The Nurburgring was very cold conditions, so maybe we had an advantage warming the tyres or whatever. We need to really do here a good race, a good weekend and confirm the good feelings.

Q. You won your first race a lot sooner than Mark Webber. When you win that race, how does it change you as a driver?

FA: Not the driver, but it changes the attention you have around you. After you win your first grand prix, the media attention and the respect from all the other drivers, it changes a little bit. And you will always be a grand prix winner for all your life. It is the same for Mark – after seven or eight years in F1, finally he won in the Nurburgring his first race and that is a step that you need to do before you grow up, and he did it at the Nurburgring. So for me it was the same in 2003, but I was 21 years old.

Q. You were breaking all the records at that time for young drivers. How much was that to do with your age?

FA: I don’t know. I was beating the records as a young driver because I started very young. All my career was like this. I know in F1 it is where you have all the attention and everyone knows what you do, but when I was in go karts, when you race in cadets, you are normally between eight and 12-years-old, and I was winning when I was eight. Then you go to the next category – I was 12 and there were people between 12 and 16, and I was winning. Then you go up from there. So all my steps in my career, I was three or four years younger than my main competitors. So when I arrive to F1, it was not a surprise to be racing against all the people – but I know it is the first time you have all the media.

Q. We saw Red Bull Racing was very dominant in the last few races. Do you expect that to be the trend for the next events, or do you think a change in the temperature will make things difference?

FA: It could be different. I think many things can change, because the last two grands prix were very cold. At the Nurburgring there was also some rain, so they were not normal races. I think here will be a much more normal scenario, even if I still think that Red Bull Racing will be the quickest car here as well. But maybe the difference is not so big and Brawn can fight back for the victory. We need to see many things this weekend – also McLaren improved a lot, Toyota is quick always, Williams are there and Force India is not slow any more. It will be a very interesting weekend.

Q. Is Jenson Button still the favourite?

FA: For me yes. I think the 20 points gap is quite a big gap. It is true that Red Bull Racing finished 1-2 in the last two grands prix, but this is not a normal thing. They cannot finish always 1-2. Always something happens in the races, so Jenson has a good margin there and if I was to bet, I would bet on Jenson at the moment. But over the next three or four grands prix we will see a better picture of whether Brawn GP can still win races.

Q. Jaime Alguersuari will have his first race in a Formula 1 car this weekend. Having not driven one properly before, coming into a new team in the middle of the season, does it give him a fair chance?

FA: I think there is always a chance. When you have the opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car, how can you say no? It is not possible. It is a big opportunity, the opportunity of your life, and you need to take it. Also, in a way, the Fridays of the last two championships have been test sessions. We have more or less free engines, four sets of tyres, so we can do a lot of laps on Fridays. Obviously he will not arrive 100 per cent for this race, but it is a great opportunity and hopefully in a very short time he will be 100 per cent.

Q. Does the performance of the Renault at the last race cloud the picture about your future plans?

FA: No!

Q. Because you did win so much and won so much as a youngster, do you see yourself leaving the sport earlier than in the days like Nigel Mansell winning the world championship at 38?

FA: Well, it is something that I am not clear about. I started when I was 19, so racing until 38 or 39 is quite a long time. If you enjoy F1 like Rubens is doing at the moment, he is not young any more but he is still loving F1 so he is still racing. I need to arrive at that time, when I am 34 or 35, and if I still love the sport then I will continue. If I am happy with my career until that moment, and I want to change my life, then I will retire. But that is something you need to have the feeling for then. It is not a decision you make now, it is a decision that your body will tell you.

Q. After this grand prix a lot of teams will switch focus onto next year’s cars. How much are you thinking about this year, and how much are you thinking about next year?

FA: For next year it is important that the teams start to prepare the cars, because we saw this year that teams like McLaren, Ferrari and Renault that pushed until the last moment last season, this year they are a little bit off the pace. All the teams will start quite quickly on next year. For me, I think there is not much to think about next year. It is all about racing, it is all about the seven races remaining for this year, concentrating on driving as smooth as possible, get some podiums and good results this year. It is more about the teams concentrating on next year, for drivers it is about living in the present, living the moment, now.