Alonso: My biggest fear is that I won’t be able to deal with it

Fernando Alonso told the press service of the Aston Martin team what he fears most, how he copes with failure and how he achieves superiority over his rivals – the age-old traditions of the Japanese samurai help him in this.

Q: What attracts you to samurai culture?
Fernando Alonso: I believe that a racer and a samurai have many traits in common: discipline, self-confidence, fearlessness. We fight for one goal: to win.

The samurai was not even afraid of death; it was considered a privilege. The driver also takes risks every lap, at every moment danger awaits him in every corner. You have to be ready for this, and for this you have to train.

I think the samurai spirit required the same approach: to improve yourself you must maintain strict discipline. Whether it’s a fight or a race, discipline is the key to becoming better than yesterday.

Q: You mentioned the feeling of fear – what are you afraid of?
Fernando Alonso: Most of all, I’m afraid of not being able to cope, not achieving the desired results, not winning. We come to the next race, to the next country, and a lot is expected of us. Aston Martin has a team of 750 people and they are trying to build the fastest car possible.

Twenty people work at the pit stops alone, changing wheels in less than three seconds. And then there are the engineers, the strategists, and all these people are doing everything they can to get me to the highest position possible. That’s why I’m especially afraid that I won’t be able to fulfill what the team expects of me.

Question: Do you know that feeling of not doing what is expected of you?
Fernando Alonso: When you drive a car on the track, it often happens that you understand: your opponent is doing better, and you can’t do anything about it. But if you are a racer, you must use this thirst for success, this competitive spirit, to attack even more aggressively.

Q: Have you ever doubted yourself?
Fernando Alonso: Fear of failure affects your performance and can cause you to lose speed. If you are leading the race, there are 10 laps to go to the finish, and someone is quickly overtaking you, the thought naturally creeps in: “What if I lose? What if he overtakes me on the last lap?

There is nothing good in such thoughts, they only affect your speed and prevent you from improving, so I try to drive them away. You need to be mentally strong to distance yourself from any thoughts of failure – this is also a form of courage.

Question: How do you deal with disappointments?
Fernando Alonso: There are more failures in life than successes, and you have to be able to deal with them, this is the only way to become stronger. This requires discipline. You must be willing to analyze failures and learn from your mistakes. Failure should not be seen as a defeat, because the desire to recover from failures is a source of motivation.

For a samurai, failure in battle only fuels the desire to be better prepared for the next battle.

Question: Is it really possible to be prepared for anything?
Fernando Alonso: You can’t be prepared for everything right away. One of the aspects of personal growth is that you have to accept that you cannot always be fully prepared for everything and that you cannot always handle things perfectly. It’s very difficult to be 100% ready to compete every round every weekend, but if you always give at least 99.9%, you’re already one step ahead of everyone.

Q: What helps you stay connected to real life?
Fernando Alonso: In Formula 1 we are in a kind of special space that cannot be called normal life. We encounter reality when we come home, sit down at the table with our family and talk about the simplest things. At such moments you change your mind – family helps you not to disconnect from reality.

Q: You became the first driver in Formula 1 history to overcome the 100,000 kilometer milestone in the stages of the World Championship. What motivates you to continue your career?
Fernando Alonso: Battling on the track is fun and keeps me coming back behind the wheel, which is why I stay in the world of motorsports. I consider it a privilege to drive Formula 1 cars. I’ve been racing since I was three years old, almost my entire life has been spent behind the wheel of a racing car, I feel most comfortable in the cockpit and I feel like I’m best at it.

If I had to choose what to do every day when I wake up, I would always choose driving a Formula 1 car.

Question: Can you achieve new victories in Formula 1?
Fernando Alonso: When I lower the visor of my helmet, when the light turns green, every race I enter I have at least one percent hope that I will win today – even if the car is not fast enough. In 99% of the cases you won’t be able to win, but if you do, this one case will be worth the long wait and all the effort you put into it.

The desire to win has not disappeared. I have experienced it from the beginning and it remains at the same high level. And I’m not going to end my career yet.