much has been written about Fernando Alonso and the fate of his career after several years in which the disappointments of life have accumulated in a greater number. ten years Ago that the pilot spaniard is not champion of the world, makes four which is not a contender for the title, the three that don’t win a Grand Prize and two that do not come up to a podium. This year, has returned to the Q3 after a year and a half without pisarlas. All this, while the time is moving inexorably to the double champion of the world, that this July will comply with 35 springs.
The own Alonso has not tended to hide in addressing these problems publicly, and he has spoken of all this in an extensive interview published in Motorsport Magazine. The pilot of McLaren this year faces its second season in a draft that begins to see the light at the end of a long tunnel, but that is still far from the objectives that are marked in your day, to recover the tandem dominator with Honda of the late 80’s.
in this situation, the possibility that Alonso will not get the long-awaited third twisted is becoming more and more patent. The thrust of the new generations soon will be more difficult. When asked if he needs to be champion again, Alonso returns to bet for a undeniable advantage, and that has served to compensate for the lack of World: the respect of the paddock towards your figure as a pilot.
“Gilles Villeneuve is one of the best pilots of the history of Ferrari. For the media, it is important to win titles, as in the philosophy of football. But from within the sport, have the recognition and the respect of all who know that, in this sport, you have to be in the right coach at the right time –even when you’re in the wrong car at the wrong time– is much more than just winning a title. I would like to have more trophies in the house, but the way things are and wouldn’t change a single day of my career in the Formula 1”
Your step-by-Ferrari has been, in all likelihood, the most frustrating thing since he left Renault in 2006 in search of more glory. The Spanish pilot, lived a romance with the team that only a double disappointment in the last race in 2010 and 2012, and the progressive loss of performance of the team in 2014, he managed to turn it off. His career later by McLaren has been, by now, even worse, but Alonso does not regret having left the Scuderia:
“Not winning with Ferrari is very stressful, because there are many pressures when you pilot it for them. After five years without winning the title, with two more years of contract and without seeing the possibility of winning it in those two years… The idea of being there seven years and not winning was not happy for me“.
“For Vettel, Ferrari is a good thing. He is younger than I, is at a different point in his career. He is young, motivated and your car can fight for podiums. But in the five years that I’ve been at Ferrari, on two occasions we arrived to the last race leading the championship (NOTE: typo of Fernando, in 2010 only came to the last race as leader of the championship), we were more than just contenders. So yes, Ferrari is much better now than in my last year there, but I don’t see even an improvement compared to where we were during a large part of my time there. But Ferrari was magic, and I carry with me some very special moments. I will always have Ferrari in my heart. I have its for road cars in my garage. I have their cars in my museum and are with the people you photograph most often”.
The criticism of their choices not only focus on the change in the Ferrari-McLaren. With the perspective that gives the time, has been able to verify that the spaniard has missed the gift of the opportunity to choose team. He missed two years in his second spell at Renault by waiting to Ferrari, flushing to a Red Bull that took a little bit to break into the elite, and came to the Scuderia after a 2009 deplorable, just when Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel started their particular domain with that obtained 4 titles, that only he could object, with 3 second places. Again, Alonso keeps the reasoning was behind every decision:
“I Know I could have more trophies in the house, or that could perhaps
have made better choices of car, but for now I have taken the
decisions that I thought were correct, so I always follow my instinct, I follow
what makes me happy. When you do that, you can’t repent. Red Bull was only
an energy drink when I had the opportunity to sign with them. What Mercedes?
Michael returned to Formula 1 and it was a good project, but Michael was
often out of Q3 in those three years. No one has a crystal ball
to get the suitable car”.
“I Come from a normal family. My mother worked in a shopping center, my father in the explosive, doing engineering. To me, I began to like the go-karts, then cars, then in Formula 1 for 17 years and have two championships of the world. From that point on, to be remembered or to wait for more titles… Well, this beyond doubt for someone who has lived this experience. I’ve driven for Renault, McLaren-Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren-Honda. Any pilot that comes out of go-karting would have signed something as well. Looking back, it is always easy to think about best decisions. But if you change the things you’ve done in your life, you would not be the person you are right now. I’m happy with who I am now.
The great controversy in which Fernando Alonso has been involved in the past few months was his intention to race in Bahrain despite the injuries he suffered, and criticism of former pilots and some sections of the press, who questioned his motivation to continue piloting a Formula 1 to the maximum level. Especially notorious was his clash with Johnny Herbert, with whom he had an exchange of views before the cameras. Alonso makes it clear in the interview that his motivation is intact, and refers to the evidence:
“I Felt a small lack of professional respect, but it was also because he questioned my motivation. In the same weekend in which I was asking the FIA to leave me to run with a broken rib and a pneumothorax! In 2014, with a car not competitive, joined the triple of points that Kimi Räikkönen, in 2015 was pushing the car in Hungary towards the pit lane. you Can say that I’m slow, ugly, or whatever, but it’s not that I’m not motivated. It makes No sense“.
The interview changes from third to the opinion of Fernando regard to the Formula 1 current, on the style of riding that is required, different from the era that crowned him champion. For all is known the preference of the wealthy to a Formula 1 that allows the pilot to squeeze the maximum throughout the race, to the limit, without having to save gas or worry about the tires. Asked about the ability of a pilot to mark the difference, Alonso responds:
“Definitely, it is more difficult to
now, because in the new Formula 1, go to background all the time is not
necessarily the fastest path, because after you will pay the price in the end
of the lap or stint, overheating everything. Sometimes, driving a little more
calm, a bit slower, it compensates at the end of the stint because the time of
race is usually faster. It is a little difficult, but it is still a
challenge. As a pilot, you try to improve and learn from everything, especially of the
engineers and the team, because now the focus is different, but it is the same thing
for all. While there is competition, you try to maximize the package that you have“.
“it is Not riding pure. If you want that, you have to go to the
karts, which is what I do. I’m going to fund you at every turn, derrapo the tires and
at the next corner I have the same grip. I do a lap, 20 lap, 75
times and all in the same tenth, all of them. That is piling pure. No longer
we have that in Formula 1. It is less fun. But you come here, you speak with your
team and prepare with them in a different way. Also enjoy it, also you
spend it well, you’re trying to learn, trying to do something different in comparison
with the other pilots-especially your partner-, look after the tyres, the
battery, conserve gas, all the different techniques to try to be more
efficient. Then there are the outputs, the first few laps, the pit stops:
a lot of difficult times in which you try to use all your experience
to win”
finally, Alonso speaks of the future. If there is something that seems to not be finished, it is his desire competitive, and the big tests always will have called attention. The Formula 1 will not last forever, and after years of bad results and cars that do not have allowed him to fight for the title, his yearning for to contest the 24 hours of Le Mans increases each time more. However, he is not satisfied with that, and also points to the third leg of the Triple Crown: the 500 miles of Indianapolis.
“I’d like to get the Triple Crown some day. I have already won the Monaco Grand Prix, so after coming in for the Indy 500 and the 24 hours
of Le Mans. It is a great challenge, and if I am still happy and motivated, perhaps that is
my challenge”
–