Alonso: The prospect of just staying home scares me

In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Fernando Alonso summed up the season, calling it one of the best of his career, admitting he fears for the life that awaits him after he retires from racing.

Q: You called last season one of the best of your career. What years would you compare it to?
Fernando Alonso: I compare it with 2012 and 2018.

Q: Since 2018?
Fernando Alonso: Yes, that season left a good impression. This was my last year at McLaren. There are years when you are in control of the situation and the car obeys you. But it happens differently when you need to adjust the style of control, and at the same time everything somehow does not go very smoothly.

Q: What are your criteria when evaluating the season, in what cases do you think it’s good?
Fernando Alonso: When I can fly to the limit and my instinct says everything comes together: both qualifying laps and races. If I manage to keep all factors under control and find a rhythm that is comfortable for me. The past year belongs to this category, even when compared to a partner who was my only reference. And last year I had to do too much business to build relationships with the team.

Q: From the outside it looked like after a two year break your first season at Alpine wasn’t bad?
Fernando Alonso: Last year I performed at only 80% of my capacity. If you missed two years, you have to spend the season to get to the highest possible level. Many things require separate efforts because they don’t happen automatically. But now I can give myself 100% again.

Q: Were you surprised that despite the move to limited budgets and new technical regulations, the usual balance of power has been preserved and the teams in the middle of the pack are still a second behind the leaders?
Fernando Alonso: The new technical regulations were one of the reasons for my return. The new rules were originally supposed to go into effect in 2021, so I came back a year early. I agree, everyone was a little upset when they realized the joining forces hadn’t changed too noticeably.

In principle, as in previous years, two teams can claim race victories. The difference between two or three top teams and everyone else is still too big. In 50% of the races we lost a lap to the winner. This means that the goal for which Formula 1 switched to a new technical regulation has not been achieved.

Question: When do you think the effect of the transition to the new regulations will be?
Fernando Alonso: I don’t think introducing a budget cap will have a noticeable effect. Unlike the situation with the technical regulations, which set very strict limits. It is difficult to come up with anything with him, and since the top teams are already quite close to the limit of what is possible, the mid players will gradually catch up with them.

Question: What is your personal achievement in the past season equal to victory?
Fernando Alonso: I don’t remember individual races very well, but the overall picture was not bad, we were competitive on almost all tracks. Our weak point was the reliability, because of this I lost a lot of points. If you don’t get the chance to fight for a title or wins, it really doesn’t matter if you finish second, fifth or eleventh.

We were mainly motivated by the battle for 4th place in the constructors’ championship, but that doesn’t inspire much enthusiasm either.

Q: And you don’t want to pick one race?
Fernando Alonso: Of course there were some good performances. Perhaps my best race was the Mexico City Grand Prix, even though I retired there. But then we executed our tactics perfectly. You can also remember the second starting position won in Canada rain qualifying. However, the race was so-so, we had technical problems again. That’s why I don’t want to remember.

Q: And what about the race in Brazil, where you could go at Leclerc’s pace and hold off Verstappen in the last ten laps?
Fernando Alonso: In those ten laps the car worked great and I think I could go as fast as any other driver. It does not matter. I am happy if I can go faster than my rivals. After all, I know how to plan races better than they do, I know how to make the right decisions at the right time.

Q: Why did Alpine’s car lose a second to Red Bull?
Fernando Alonso: We lost a little bit everywhere. Rivals sought advantages through downforce, drag, more power, more efficient tire handling, shorter pit stops.

Their car was quicker both on the straights and in the corners and finding a good balance in this combination is very difficult. Such a backlog cannot be played back in one year. But I hope that one or two teams will overtake the leaders in a few years.

Q: The ground effect is back this year. What is the difference in the approach to controlling such machines?

Fernando Alonso: These are completely unique machines, they are rather clumsy in corners. Because they are heavy by themselves, it seems like there are always 100 liters of fuel in the tank of the car. But in fast corners these cars seem to come to life. The higher the speed, the better the grip.

This has happened before, but only to an extent. And now the ground effect depends on the speed, so these machines hold the track much better.

Q: Does the speed of these machines depend on the skill of the rider?
Fernando Alonso: I do not think so. Something can be achieved only at the stage of selecting settings. But at some point we all adapt to the machines we have to control. It was the same with the previous generation of vehicles and with the cars I got to drive in other racing categories.

When I competed in Le Mans or the Indy 500, I also needed time to adapt. But if you find your limit, you might manage to win back about a tenth of the rest.

Question: Perhaps you can also gain a certain advantage through experience?

Fernando Alonso: I have already performed 17 times on most tracks of the calendar. And some riders maybe only twice. At the same time, the workouts are too short and cannot compensate for this benefit.

Question: So there are just no special disadvantages associated with age?
Fernando Alonso: If a young rider beats you on the last lap of a race that is very stressful simply because he is in better shape then age can be a barrier. But this has never happened before. In all other respects, age offers only advantages.

In every situation I can fall back on my own rich experience. In Montreal we could only do a few laps in the rain before qualifying. But I know from previous experience what happens at this track in such conditions, because I once raced there five or six times in the rain.

Q: In what areas was Fernando Alonso better in 2022 than Fernando Alonso in 2006?
Fernando Alonso: In many. Now I am better able to predict the course of the race, I know when to attack and when not to. In 2006, being able to work with rubber played almost no role, unlike now. When we talk about pit stops, it is now important to stop to the nearest centimetre. And in those years when refueling was done in the pits, this did not play any role anyway, the pit stop lasted about ten seconds, while fuel was poured into the tank.

Now if I had the chance to drive 2006 Alonso on the track, I would have beaten him on all these nuances.

Q: Lewis Hamilton admires your tenacity, which keeps you acting in Formula 1, although unlike him, you can hardly expect to have a car next year that you can fight for wins with. What motivates you?
Fernando Alonso: I like the work I do. Of course I want to have a car with which I can fight for the title. But now I don’t have that option. Of all possible options, it is with Aston Martin that I could try to reach my goal in two or three years.

At my age, the time factor is important, I don’t have much in stock. As long as there is at least a one percent chance that I can fight for the title, I will keep racing. And if you can’t achieve this as a racer, then maybe there’s a role for me outside the cockpit.

If we become world champions at the same time, I will still experience satisfaction, because I can say that I also contributed to that. I am happy to start a new project and try to make it successful as soon as possible.

Q: Are you afraid that in Aston Martin you have to start everything from scratch?
Fernando Alonso: I give myself a report on this. But still, a good foundation has been laid in Aston Martin, they have excellent specialists, a new base is being built with the most modern equipment. And at Alpine I am leaving behind many of the good things that we have developed together over the past two years.

It’s no secret that I had problems with steering feedback last season and now everything works perfectly. And anyone who gets behind the wheel of an Alpine car finds that the steering gives the right feedback. This is an example of the benefits of working with Alonso and what his departure could mean.

Q: How long are you going to race?
Fernando Alonso: So far I feel like I can give 100%. At least another two or three years. At my age, you have to do a lot of things differently: training, traveling, all sorts of events that happen between races. Formula 1 demands a lot from racers and in order not to burn out you have to manage your time well.

Question: Were there times in your career when you thought about retirement?
Fernando Alonso: In 2018 I said goodbye to Formula 1.

Q: But you kept competing in endurance racing, at Le Mans and also in the Indy 500?
Fernando Alonso: I never thought about stopping racing completely.

Q: And yet you’re going to have to do it at some point. Does the life that awaits you after the end of a career scare you?
Fernando Alonso: Scary. I don’t have a plan B. I’ve been racing all my life and that’s the only thing I’m good at. I have learned nothing else. My whole life has been devoted to motorsport. If you ever have to say goodbye to Formula 1, I will continue to speak in other races. So winning the Dakar remains my goal. But the prospect of just sitting at home terrifies me.

Question: Are you thinking about continuing your career in a leading position in Formula 1 where your knowledge and experience could be useful?
Fernando Alonso: I don’t want to knock on anyone’s door, but so far such work in my plans is far from the first place. Formula 1 involves constant travel. You can put up with this if you do what you like. If I have to spend too much time on the road, but the work isn’t much fun, my internal battery drains very quickly.