|
PART TWO: DRIVERS – Fernando
ALONSO (McLaren), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas), Jolyon PALMER (Renault)
QPRESS CONFERENCE
Q: So, Fernando, twice a winner here in Bahrain but really only one thing to
ask you about this afternoon, which is the Indianapolis 500. First current
F1 driver to do Indy, I think, for around 40 years. What’s in it for you,
and what’s in it for Formula One?
Fernando ALONSO: As you said, it’s something that is not very common now. I
think the past it was all about the best drivers in the world with the best
cars in the world and the best races in the world. Then it became more and
more professional, the sport, and everyone was dedicated or fully committed
to only one series and I think that changed over time. This possibility, it
was there for us this year, and I think I am excited to try a different
thing. If I want to be the best driver in the world there are two options: I
win eight Formula One World Championships, one more than Michael, which is
very unlikely; the second one is to win different series in different
moments of my career and be a driver that can race and win in any car, in
any series. So, that’s very challenging – but attractive as well. So, this
is the reason behind. With the same team is a win-win situation. I think it
is good for Formula One. This big market in North America that we’ve been
pursuing for many years: I think it’s good to go there now and show the
respect for the Indy Car series; good for Indy, I guess, to have some
Formula One drivers in the competition, and same for McLaren-Honda. I think,
as a team, to be racing in the same day in Monte Carlo and in the Indy 500,
two McLaren-Hondas in different series, is an amazing thing for motorsport
fans. As I said, I think it’s a win-win series for everyone.
Q: It’s obviously a very different kind of driving discipline. In terms of
the preparation, how many days of running do you expect to get before race
day and what kind of preparation do you think you’re going to be able to do?
FA: There is not a defined plan yet, it’s still on-going, so I cannot answer
100 per cent sure what will be there. The plan, at the moment is that next
weekend I will be in Alabama just visiting the race and meeting the team
members to see how things go there. Probably on Monday after the race I will
do the seat fitting, and then I will fly to Russia for the race. After
Russia, I will try to be in Indianapolis for a couple of simulator days and
hopefully test the car – but it’s not 100 per cent sure. And after that I
will go to the Spanish Grand Prix and then fly to America on Sunday after
the race because the free practice is on Monday at midday. So, definitely
busy weeks in front. On the planes, I will try to look at some videos and
some races from the past years and try to learn as quick as I can. It’s
completely different skills that you need there, to adapt to the car, to
adapt to the circuit, strategies, ways of racing: that close, at that speed,
so many things that I have to learn and I’m not ready yet, at the moment –
but in the next couple of weeks I am confident I will be able to adapt as
quick as I can.
Q: Just before you came in, Lewis and Sergio were talking about it and
thinking about the challenge ahead of you, they were both saying they think
you’ll go great because you’re outstanding at race management: if you need
to save fuel, save tyres, managing the tyres – but also moving through
traffic. When you look at those races do you feel confident that there’s a
lot of areas like that that you’ve got in your game that will really help
you?
FA: Hmmm… not really. I never thought about that before making the decision.
I think… I don’t feel prepared now. I don’t feel… let’s say I’m not in my
comfort zone driving those cars or thinking about those cars. But I’m not
afraid of trying and I’m not afraid of not delivering a good result – but
knowing at the same time that there are very important weeks ahead. If I
want to win one day the triple crown, I have to make this step. This year
was the best opportunity for us as a team.
Q: Kevin, coming to you. Eighth, obviously, in China, scoring Haas’ first
points of the season. We asked Sergio earlier on about the intensity of that
midfield battle this year, with Haas’ best-ever result coming here 12 months
ago. Do you feel this again is a circuit that gain you can rise on, as a
team?
Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be as good as China,
or even Melbourne. I think we have a good car that works well in most
conditions and I think, yeah, as I said, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t
be able to perform here. The midfield is very close and competitive, so
getting points, you really need to be on top of everything. That’s our
target: to be on top of everything and to try and score points again – but
it’s not easy.
Q: You’ve raced with two well established operations in McLaren and Renault.
How different is it racing for a start-up? Does being in a team like this
actually suit you?
KM: In some ways it does. Being small some things are easier, some things
are more difficult. I think there’s a lot of talent in the team. They’ve got
together a really strong, small group of people that work really well
together. In some situations, it’s difficult when you’re small. For example,
when we need to go into FP3 with no practice; when we miss Friday like we
did in China, it’s not easy because our preparation before the race weekend
is not as strong as the big teams, of course. But, we react quickly and we
take decisions well and, as I said, if everything goes well, I think we
should be strong.
Q: Jolyon, a brutal weekend in Australia but then in China, qualified 18th
but finished 13th, it’s clearly not gone as expected so far? So, what have
you had to deal with?
Jolyon Palmer: Australia was very tough for many reasons but China was much
better, to be honest. The car was feeling good, I finally had a clean
session in FP3 and we were in the top ten. And then qualifying I really feel
I could have been in Q3 as well but I didn’t get a lap in in Q1 really.
Starting from the back, it’s difficult to do much and we couldn’t make a lot
of inroads in the race. I think the performance of the car is pretty good,
as Nico has been showing, especially in China qualifying, so it’s just a
matter of putting a clean weekend together, getting some laps on Friday – I
think I’ve done about ten so far across two weekends, so yeah, would be nice
to have a clean weekend and I think we can get in the points.
Q: Do you think this generation of cars suits you?
JP: I like it! That’s for sure. I think probably every driver is enjoying
driving one of these cars: there’s a lot of downforce. For me, having never
driven a V8 or a V10 era of F1 car, this is really exciting. It’s easily the
quickest I’ve ever driven. The downforce is the main thing that we feel and
it’s exciting.
Q: Do you feel you’re more comfortably in race mode than in qualifying? Is
qualifying an area that’s a particular focus for you going forward this
year?
JP: No, I just think we’ve had particularly difficult weekends. Qualifying
in China would have been fine. The lap that I was on in Q1 would have easily
seen me through to Q2, so I’m really sure I could have been in Q3 but it’s
just how it goes. The Sauber crashing meant that meant I couldn’t complete
the lap properly.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Fernando, if you win in Indianapolis, and
you’re able to win at Le Mans after that – and both are big ifs
unfortunately, it would still only pull you level with another double World
Champion who won the triple crown. So, what other iconic event could you aim
for to really set yourself apart from everybody else, as you said earlier on
you’d like to?
FA: I don’t know. That’s thinking too much ahead. Go-Kart World Champion. I
don’t know if the other guy was.
Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Fernando, two-part question: would this
have happened had Ron Dennis still been in charge. And b) more
significantly, would you be doing this if you had a competitive car beneath
you this season?
FA: First part of the question, I guess not. Zak is a man who has a bigger
vision that other team principals or bosses that I had. He sees motorsports
differently; he sees McLaren bigger, not only concentrated in Formula One.
McLaren won Le Mans a couple of times, won the Indy 500 in the past as well
a couple of times. I think he is a true racer. I think it is great that
McLaren and Zak joined forces last year It’s a good thing. Secondly, if the
car was competitive this year and we were with 43 points together with the
other two guys, you cannot afford to lose 25 points possibility missing one
race. So, probably the feeling was different if we were competitive.
Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Fernando, do you have any idea when you think
you’ll be able to race Le Mans?
FA: I don’t know. It’s between Canada and Baku no? We’ll see how many flight
connections there are! No, I think definitely… it was something also on the
table this year, also because Zak, as an American was pushing for the Indy
500, Eric as a Frenchman, he was pushing for the Le Mans, so I had two good
friends in one moment pursuing the race. I think the McLaren-Honda
partnership, to be able to run this in the Indy 500, was very attractive
this year. For Le Mans it is something I will do – probably as soon as I
can. I don’t know if it will be next year or from the following years. The
only and first priority is Formula One, so if I can race together with
Formula One and other series, as I’m doing this year, will be great. If not,
I will do only Formula One.
Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Just to follow-up again, on what Ian Parkes
was saying, you said this wouldn’t have happened under Ron Dennis
potentially but it’s happening under Zak. What about the new owners,
Liberty, have they given it their blessing – they don’t have to but have
they done so? And could you imagine you being allowed to do this, or would
the squeeze have been put on for you to not, one of the leading Formula One
drivers to have done this, under Bernie?
FA: As you said, I don’t think they have a key role on all of these
decisions. It’s more of a team decision but yeah, I think they are also more
open than in the past. We see that also with all of the things we are
allowed to do here now. A little bit more relaxed environment. I think it’s
also great for Formula One.
Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Two part question to Fernando: firstly, who
would you like to see replace you in Monaco, who do you think would be the
ideal driver to do that? And secondly, when you say good result at Indy,
what do you mean? Are you going there for the win, or is it too early to set
that target? Do you see winning this year a realistic prospect at Indy?
FA: I think for the Monaco replacement I don’t know. I have no idea of what
the team is thinking of at the moment and I don’t have any preference
either. I think whoever will be in the car will do great because the team
will try to make the best decision possible. Also I’m sure that Stoffel will
put the car where he will need to put it because now with some more races
and also testing next week here, I think we will get to the maximum speed as
soon as possible, so I’m not concerned for this. It will be a good weekend
in Monaco for the team, I’m sure. In Indy, I don’t have a clear target,
let’s put it that way. I’m going there just with the feeling of enjoy this
experience, learn as much as I can from the track side with the different
skills that I will need to drive those cars - and also from the outside
which I think... the event is quite big, it’s a 14 day event with many
things happening there. So (I’m) very open to anything that comes, but at
the same time I’m a racer and if I want to win the triple crown one day I
have to win that race. If that win happens earlier than expected it’s
welcome. Otherwise I need to go again.
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Fernando, was McLaren’s desire to keep you
for 2018 any part of these discussions?
FA: No, no. At the beginning of the year, the team asked me what was my
intention and my thoughts for the future. I told them the same thing that I
told you guys at the launch of the car. After the summer I will think and I
will make a decision of what I will do next year, so nothing has changed
after this discussion. It’s not that I’m thinking ‘away from Formula One’,
so this will be my last year because this decision and obviously it’s not
that thanks to this decision... You know I’m closer and closer to McLaren
and to renew the contract so it’s completely independent. After the summer I
will see.
Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday, Motorsportweek.com) Fernando, you
said you’re open to other things in Indycar as well. Would you be open to
other Indycar races, bearing in mind there’s a double-header the week after
Indy before Canada, and you’re in North America already? And it’s a street
circuit?
FA: No. I don’t think so. I think it’s a one-off. I will do the Indy 500
because it’s the race, it’s the biggest race in the world and the fastest
race in the world but after that, especially after Indy and Canada I will
probably be two weeks in the living room watching television and relaxing.
Q: Just before we move on, I just wanted to ask the other two gentlemen what
do you think of this and is it something that you’d like to do?
JP: I think it’s cool. I think it’s obviously something pretty different,
it’s exciting for everyone, for him especially but the whole of F1. For me
to do it, we’re in quite different positions right now so maybe in 15 years
if I’m in a similar position then maybe.
KM: Yeah, I can see that with his situation it makes sense and it’s a really
cool thing to do so I can understand it.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Fernando, two parts: was it your idea to go
racing elsewhere, Indy or Le Mans, and secondly, you had some tough times
physically in Bahrain – I don’t remember when, 2006? Did you prepare
differently for this race with the new cars?
FA: Indy and Le Mans – I don’t know, it was a conversation at dinner in
Australia that we were sharing our ambitions for the future: me as a driver,
of my karting school and different things, different projects that I’m in
and as a driver to win something else other than Formula One that we succeed
to win a few things was attractive. Zak was telling me his vision about the
team in the near future, expanding McLaren into different series in
motorsport so I think it was a conversation that began casually but it
didn’t come from my side or his side. It was just a conversation. And then
in Bahrain, it was 2009 when I lost five or six kilos of sweat, five or six
litres of water. We had a problem with one of the looms on the radiator. I
completely burnt all my back in the race and after the race I was completely
off, so hopefully everything will be in place and we will not burn the skin
any further than in the sun in the morning.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globosport.com) Fernando, what is the influence of the
difficulties of your team today in your decision to compete in the USA 500?
And will this decision interfere in your presence in this Formula One season
this year in other races?
FA: It will not influence anything for the remainder of the year. I will be
back in Canada, stronger, hopefully, because there are some improvements
also during the year which will put us in a more normal position. Right now
we are very uncompetitive and we are not happy with the situation so I think
it’s going to be much more fun for us, the remaining races from Spain
onwards, let’s say. And what was the first question? Not really. I think
it’s true that it’s a good motivation and the possibility to win a big race,
a big trophy like the Indy 500 in the middle of a year is like winning a
World Championship in one weekend so you have two possibilities in one year,
so it’s very attractive but it’s not that it came to our mind because this
year we’re struggling or last year or the last two years we’re not
competitive. This is something that I keep repeating since 2014. I remember
leaving Ferrari and talking about this possibility to Mattiacci and people
at Ferrari, even racing the 24 hours of Le Mans with a 458, so you’re
competing in two different categories in the first year in the same year. So
it’s nothing new because of the performance of this year.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Fernando, given what you’ve just said, if
you don’t win in Indianapolis would you consider putting a clause in your
future contracts regardless of which team, that you can actually compete in
say Le Mans or the Indianapolis 500?
FA: No, no, I think if it’s something that comes naturally from the team and
from myself and we want to do it, it’s one thing but my commitment and my
desire to win in Formula One is bigger than any other challenge that I can
find outside Formula One so it’s Formula One or nothing at the moment but
if, together with a team, we arrive at a decision that maybe could be
interesting for both sides to try something else we do it but I will never
put a clause or anything in a future contract because Formula One is the
only thing that I want to do and the only thing that I’m probably prepared
to do. The other things are just a question mark.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Fernando, how hard is it then to
miss the race in Monte Carlo, the one where you can probably overcome the
deficiencies of the car more than at any other place?
FA: It’s very hard. Definitely Monte Carlo, we know with the package we have
in the last couple of years, it was our best opportunity, it’s where we
achieved the best results in the last couple of years so it’s a very magic
event in Formula One so with all respect to all the other races, any other
race to miss was fantastic compared to Monte Carlo. I will try to follow it
from Indianapolis, also that that weekend is more or less free there, it’s
only the race on Sunday so I will miss Monaco massively.
Q: Abhishak Takle – Midday) Fernando, I know that you said you haven’t yet
set any targets but you must be reasonably confident of being able to run at
the front because without that, to give up competing in Monaco is a pretty
big decision.
FA: Yeah but in a way Monaco is the biggest race of the calendar in Formula
One and the event is amazing, not only the race on Sunday but the whole
weekend is amazing but the best result that we achieved was last year,
fifth. Thinking that we are a little bit less competitive this year, you
know and maybe you had a possibility to do another top five or seven or six
or wherever, it’s great to have some points but I’ve won a couple of times
there already and two times World Champion so to have fifth, seventh or
ninth in Monaco will not change my life. In a way, it’s impossible to
compare... to have the minimum chance to win the Indy 500 compared to a
fifth or sixth or seventh in Monaco. It’s much bigger, the other
possibility.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Kevin and Jolyon, your fathers both raced
at Le Mans in the endurance championship etc. Could you see yourselves going
there?
JP: It’s possible but yeah, I think for me, I’m so focussed on Formula One
at the moment, only my second year so yeah, my position’s pretty different.
Still all eyes only on Formula One. I think I love the sprint racing but
wheel to wheel racing which is not so much endurance. But Le Mans is still a
legendary race so maybe.
KM: I think, for me, I want to be in Formula One and focus on that but my
Dad is still racing, he’s in a competitive team in his series and also
racing at Le Mans, so I think it would be a shame not to try and do a race
together. Me growing up with him racing all the time, it would be a really
special experience to do a race with him and imagining winning something
like Le Mans with him would be fantastic. It’s weighing up those two things
that Formula One is my main priority, that’s what I want to do and what I
want to focus on but there is the desire to do something like that with my
Dad as well so we will see what happens.
Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Fernando, just saying then that coming fifth
or sixth at Monaco isn’t going to change your life, is that the approach
you’re also going to take when you look at where you’re going to be next
year as well and who you’re going to be racing for?
FA: Yeah, yes, definitely. I want to win, I’m here to win. I think this year
I prepared harder than ever for this year. There’s also the change of
regulations. We have high hopes for this year. I feel great with these cars,
I’m able to extract the maximum from the cars while during the last couple
of years it was difficult because especially with the tyres you had to
manage the tyres in a strange way: the less you push, the more performance
was there in the tyres so this year is coming back to more normal Formula
One and I really enjoyed the race in Australia and in China as well. We were
running and securing eighth place. With the performance we have now, it was
completely unexpected. Even the most optimistic simulation we had was
telling us that we were around 14th or 15th. So I think I’m really at the
best of my career right now in terms of driving so for next year, the target
has to be only one: fighting for the World Championship, so not any more
fifth or sixth. |
