Alonso Interview
Do you think that there is no unanimity about you in Spain?
Yes, there is unanimity, there are more than 30,000 people here (Jerez), there are queues to get here, if I go out for dinner people love me…
But there are people who speak ill of you, in some circles you don’t have a good image…
Those people I am talking about tremble when they see me, for example if they want to have their picture with me taken. And they cry.
I am scurrrrred now
That is what Cristiano Ronaldo said the other day.
Because that is how it works. And I am going to give you an example. I have a friend who one day, when we were at Montmelo, when I arrived to the motorhome he told me that
outside there were a few people he knew from those internet forums.
Some of them usually criticised me
and my friend was of the opinion that, if they asked me for an autograph, I should pay them no attention. I went out and one of them was shaking (his camera) when he wanted to have a pic taken with me. So,
one thing is internet and how brave you are there, and another thing is the admiration I receive from people around the world. And I think that there is much more unanimity that what it is said or written, because it sells more (papers?) to say that there are anti-Alonsoists than to say that 30,000 people came to see me, because that is the usual thing and nobody writes about it.
Sometimes I wonder why a person like you, a sports legend, a pioneer in F1 in Spain and with enough money to sustain a few generations, still risks his life on track, What are you looking for?
I would miss it, we have grown up with that adrenaline, with the need to compete, to risk our lives and when you are idle for two months you can’t wait to be back in the car. Hence I will keep on doing it for as long as I see that your (my) competitiveness or my results are acceptable, the day I realise that you (I) am not up to it I will leave it, but as long as I manage…I would miss it too much.
I don’t want you to retire too soon, God forbids, but a few days ago they told me that you would leave when you had kids, is that true? Do you think that you lose a second on track for each child you have?
No, I don’t think so. And I have not thought about retiring if I ever have kids either, that would not be a reason to retire for me.
How do you see, from the vantage point of view of a sports star, the economic crisis?
With concern. I have many friends who have lost their jobs, who are going through some difficulty, and concerned for your country, the news you hear, you read, about the politicians, about Spain...You always want the best for your people, for your countrymen, and things going poorly is sad even if it does not impact you directly.
Should sports stars be a reference in public life?
I don’t think we could do much, but whatever we could do we would be happy to do, I suppose that sports is a way (for people) to escape crisis or worries. On any given Sunday you watch a football match or an F1 race and your mind clears up, you can enjoy yourself a bit.
So do you work on making people happier?
I think so, for example the football World Cup. When Spain won it we had those 15 or 20 days of total bliss because we had won, and for a moment everything else was forgotten.
Beyond your contribution to the common happiness, tell me, what does Spain need to get out of a crisis like this one?
Patience, this is not just a Spanish crisis, this is a worldwide crisis (originated) due to different circumstances and I don’t think that getting nervous or trying to sort everything out in a few months is the solution, we need to be patient, even if it isn’t easy.
Last year you said that you needed your lifelong friends close to keep your sanity, how can you endure all this?
You try to stay a little above it all, you touch it very lightly, what goes on during these days, you live immersed in the car, in (your work with) the engineers, and then when you arrive home you call your school friends or play a tennis match with them, or go out for dinner and talk of everyday things, of Real Madrid, of things that have nothing to do with F1 and go back down to real life, to the life you want.
A lot is said about your famous quote, about F1 not being a sport. What is it then?
F1 is too much of a business to be a sport, and too much of a sport to be a business, it is somewhere in between both, it is a show but also a business for many people. It isn’t just a sports speciality pure and simple, there are many interests, many things in play (too much at stake) and hence also the greatness of this sport, otherwise it would be just like GP2 or a promotion formula, F1 is big/great because of everything that revolves around it.
Now that you know all that, what is left of that young guy who made his debut in F1 with a serious face before getting into the worst car of the grid?
I still have a serious face now..(laughs). At the moment that picture is taken you are about to get into the car, it is like seeing the face of a surgeon just before he is about to start a surgery, nobody is telling jokes. What is still left is a bit of the basis, the hope, the eagerness to live motorsports from within and the admiration for the cars, the gasoline, the engines… and the essence of that boy is still there too.
When you see your friend Kubica in a hospital, do you fear for your life?
First and foremost, I want to say that Robert is a great driver, the best of the current grid and that one day, sooner or later, he will be world champion. And about the question, no, you don’t thing, you don’t think about anything bad, but I am very much aware of the risk inherent to this sport. That’s another thing that people forget out there, usually the guy who finishes 12th receives any type of adjectives from the internet users or whoever, and the one who finished 12th risked his life just like the guy who won and did his best. But you never thing about anything bad, even if you see a colleague in that situation.
Say something to those people who travel from Asturias to Jerez to see you.
The championship looks interesting, with options to be in front, but we have to wait, nobody can know what this championship will bring along because of the unknowns/unanswered questions left. We still have some tests that will require hard work to come, the first races when we will see how things stand, and then we have a long year ahead of us for evolving the car, avoiding mistakes and be fighting. We will never stop fighting.
I consider him the 2nd best driver on the grid,I respect his driving abilities (until he gets on the radio or waves his fist past pitwalls and competitors alike)
