Fernando Alonso, double Formula One world champion, explained that twenty years after his first victory, at the Hungaroring, which is the venue this weekend for the eleventh Grand Prix of the championship, his “competitive DNA and the excitement of fighting against the best” remains “the same”; but what has changed, among other things, is that he has “more experience, more knowledge” and “less stress level.”
“Probably when you lower the visor on Sunday, the motivation is the same,” he replied, during the official press conference of the FIA (International Automobile Federation), which took place this Thursday at the circuit on the outskirts of Budapest. The Aston Martin driver, who, a few days after turning 42, continues to cause a sensation after achieving six podiums in the first ten races, is third in a contest led by the Dutchman Max Verstappen.
“The joy of the race, that formation lap; the start, the adrenaline… competing against the best drivers and the best teams in the world; and looking for success in front of them. That is still exactly the same as twenty years ago“, indicated the Spaniard.
A more skilled pilot
“What changes is that now i have more experience; Off the track, too, when preparing the races with your engineers, the strategies… Also the knowledge you have about the treatment of the tires and about all the scenarios that you can find during the race. And that there are no big surprises in my head,” he explained.
“The level of stress is also different. But, without a doubt, competitive DNA remains the same. This is the most fun part of our job. And that hasn’t changed from twenty years ago until today, “said Alonso on the scene of his first victory in the premier class (2003), where he raced for the first time in F1 twenty-two years ago.
“It was a magical moment, for my career and for my life”, recalled the Asturian of that day in which he dazzled the entire world, by becoming, at that moment, the youngest winner ever -now it is Verstappen- and the only Spaniard to win in F1. Something that was the case until last year, when Carlos Sainz won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
A surprising victory
“The logical thing was a ‘top 5’ or perhaps the podium, that was the most realistic, but we ended up winning the race. We decided to make changes; from that the cars were recharged and we chose to start with little fuel in qualifying, so we ended up taking pole position and ended up winning the race; which was obviously a bit surprising. Logically, the memory of your first victory is always there: it’s the greatest,” he said.
“But it changed my life forever, because from that day on I lost my privacy; especially in Spain, for twenty years”, explained the new Aston Martin captain, who also admitted that the memory of Budapest and that first victory, as well as that of Brazil, where he celebrated -in Interlagos, Sao Paulo- his two world titles, is “great”.
“Despite losing privacy, however, I don’t change anything; Although it is a difficult question to answer. We want to live our dream. Since I was little, when I used to race ‘karts’, the goal was to be here. And you don’t think about those personal changes: they are not only for you, but also for your family”, indicated the Asturian star, with 32 victories and 104 podiums in Formula One.
team changes
“I don’t have anything to regret either, as far as the teams I’ve been through are concerned. When I left Renault -after his two World Cups (2005 and 2006)- and I went to McLaren in 2007, we were competitive and we fought for a title that fell to one point. It was a good change”, Alonso said elegantly, without wanting to go into more detail about a season in which the disastrous management of the season by the Woking team would surely end up resulting in what would have been their third title in a row.
“Then we went to Ferrari. I don’t see anyone giving up driving for Ferrari. And we fought for three of the five titles during the five years I was there,” explained Fernando.
“After, the return to McLaren, which everyone thought was going to be good; and it didn’t work. I left F1, because I was looking for new challenges, such as the World Resistance Championship (WEC, which they won, for Toyota, ‘doubling’ at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, France), the Dakar or the Indy,” he said.
To the ’33’ in Hungary
“And I returned to Formula One; with what was my ‘family’, Alpine, that is, Renault. And the last decision, signing for Aston Martin, which for everyone was the worst, ended up being the best of all. It is difficult to choose teams. And there are many people who think without knowing, “said the Asturian pilot, who, if the Red Bulls fail, aim for the long-awaited ’33’ this weekend in Hungary, one of his” favorite places “.
“This weekend we hope things go better than in Austria and Silverstone. This circuit, its layout and its characteristics, are more in line with the tracks on which we have done well so far this year On tracks with fast corners and long straights we don’t do so well; and Austria and Silverstone were a clear example of this,” he said.
“So hopefullythat we can have a better staging again, although our main competitors have improved their packages and are going to be very strong here again. It will be difficult, but let’s hope we have fun,” he said.
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