Fernando Alonso I want to stay in Formula 1

In an interview with the BBC, Fernando Alonso spoke about his career…

Fernando Alonso “Sometimes you have the best car, sometimes you don’t have the best car, and you still have to fight and make progress. That is the nature of our sport. The skill of the rider is important, but not critical. Lewis pilots as in the past eight years. He dominated the sport, broke all records, earned more than a hundred pole positions. This year he is as clean as he said in Australia or anywhere else – and a second behind the leader. Welcome to my world!

This is Formula 1. This is a team sport, which we sometimes forget when we are successful. I won two championship titles ahead of Michael Schumacher, but my car was more reliable and performed better. And the headlines always feature the rider’s name.

Winning over 100 pole positions in Formula 1 is an incredible achievement. For this, the car has to be the best for years to come. Sometimes I do a fantastic circle and I am only 15th. How to explain it to people? Lewis rightly succeeded there, but this proves once again how dependent we are on the car.

His fight with Russell? In recent years, George was very fast, no one doubted that he would become a serious opponent for Lewis. Yes, Hamilton is behind now, but I am sure he will be ahead at the end of the season. Behind only five Grand Prix. In some races it will be more difficult for George. Lewis has more experience and maybe more talent.

I haven’t been on the podium in Formula 1 for nine years. I’m a very competitive person and when I don’t win I really miss that feeling, and as the season goes on the frustration builds.

At Ferrari we were very close to the title a few times, the missed opportunity was a heavy burden on the shoulders of every employee. The pressure was very great. At one point the atmosphere in the team became tense and I decided to leave, with a contract for another two years – that was better for both parties.

I dream of a third title, but I understand very well how our sport works, where only one or two cars let the driver fight for the championship. Together with the team you try to build such a machine – this is an interesting process.

I was happy to return to Formula 1 after the break. I felt competitive, but that was no guarantee. Everyone expected me to be fast right away, but after missing two seasons, anything can happen. The first five Grands Prix last year proved difficult, but then we managed to add to it. I am pleased with the progress we have made over this period.

From the new regulations I expected more equality between the teams, but again only two teams can compete for the championship. I have to admit that these two teams are good enough to handle the new rules better than others, and we couldn’t achieve this.

Age doesn’t matter in motorsport. In other sports it is different, you depend on your physical condition, but in motorsport a new front or rear wing means more than three years old.

Two years out of Formula 1 was enough to fully recover psychological and physical form. I’m as good now as I was when I was 25 or 30.

When you make a decision at any point in your life, you view it as the right one, opening up new opportunities. If I had stayed longer in one of the teams I don’t think I would have had a chance to win because one team dominated the sport and I didn’t have the chance to go there.

I’ve never negotiated with Mercedes. And it doesn’t matter if you finish second in a red, orange or blue car. You still come second. But I was able to fulfill my other dreams, I took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, I tried myself in the Indy 500. And now I’m quite happy.

I will not return to Indianapolis. Now it’s not so great anymore. The arrival of Aeroscreen protection has changed the feel of the car. I spoke to colleagues, they say the machines have become harder to manage, harder to track each other. Now it’s not so much fun. I liked it in 2017 when there was a lot of overtaking and overtaking has become difficult in recent years.

And there is a danger factor. The Indy 500 has a few serious accidents every year. Now I’m completely focused on Formula 1, and if I decide to leave I don’t know if I’ll be tempted to drive another 500 miles…

We have not formally negotiated a contract extension with Alpine management. So we drank a few cups of coffee and that was it. But we’re going to start soon. We want to close the gap with the leaders and win races, although we understand it is not easy. In the first year under the new regulations, you learn how to work with a new car, you look at the solutions that rivals use – the development is very fast, there are many ways to close the gap.

I want to stay in Formula 1 next year or the next two years, I’m in good shape and I want to fight. It would be wrong to watch Formula 1 on the couch in the living room feeling 100% ready to fight. If I feel it isn’t, I’ll be the first to raise my hand and stop. Formula 1 is very demanding, you have to sacrifice a lot to race, but for now I’m ready.