Alonso shows a year is a long time in F1

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  • He’s got the sparkle back: Fernando Alonso

    Twelve months ago Fernando Alonso was wrapping up a “sad” and “embarrassing” season with McLaren and fending off perplexing “sabbatical” suggestions from the then team boss Ron Dennis.

    Listening to the Spanish two-time world champion address the press this weekend in Abu Dhabi, one can’t help but realise the contrasting tone in his rhetoric compared to 2015 as he pledged his “100 per cent commitment” to McLaren and rated his driving this season as the third-best of his 16-year Formula One career.

    What a difference a year makes!

    While still a far cry from shaking up the order at the front of the grid, Alonso is pleased with the progress made by the British marque and even made a bold statement when he implied he will not walk away from the sport until he wins a third world championship.

    “2012 was probably my best season in F1, then could be 2014, my second-best, and probably this (2016) would be on the final step of the podium so far in my opinion because I felt very confident with the car in every condition, feeling good, even in the last 10 laps in Brazil I felt really competitive with 40-lap-old tyres, things like that… so that confidence in the car I think gave me the opportunity to drive at the limit on many occasions,” the 35-year-old told reporters at Yas Marina Circuit.

    Alonso enters the final race of the year lying in 10th position in the drivers’ standings with 53 points from 20 grands prix. Last year, the Spaniard concluded the season with a meager 11 points in total, and was forced to retire in seven races.

    He has outshone his team-mate Jenson Button in 2016, with the departing British driver claiming just 21 points in what is apparently his final year in F1.

    “Jenson is an incredible driver, last year I experienced that and saw that and this year I was able to be in front of him many many times, even in qualifying we are 13-5 or something like that. But in three qualifyings I didn’t participate because I had the penalty already with the engine so I did only Q1, so I think that could be even higher than that, so I consider this year on a very high standard from my driving point of view,” said a confident Alonso.

    “I’m happy with the things we’ve done, happy with the progress of the team as well. Completely different taste this final race in Abu Dhabi compared to 12 months ago where we were disappointed, sad… many things were going on in our heads last year. Instead, this year, everything is optimistic and everything is joy.

    “We know there’s still a long way to go to become champions but the feeling is much more happy compared to last year.”

    Two of Alonso’s contemporaries are bidding farewell to the sport this weekend in Button and Williams’ Felipe Massa, but any speculation about the future of the Oviedo-native was immediately shutdown by him in Abu Dhabi.

    In a video tribute message to former F1 driver Mark Webber, who officially retired from motorsport following the Six Hours of Bahrain race at the World Endurance Championship (WEC) last weekend, Alonso said: “You’ve had a fantastic career and now all your success with Porsche. You didn’t wait for me there, it would have been nice but you’ll still be around and I will ask you many things when I join your adventure.”

    Asked to elaborate on his comments and whether plans for switching to endurance racing are indeed in the works, Alonso said: “That’s something that I don’t know either. It’s nothing new what I said in that message.

    “I’m committed to Formula One 100 per cent next year here with the team and then in the future there’s no doubt that the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a very attractive challenge and a very attractive thing to do for me because I like the category, I like the cars, and as I said it’s a good challenge.

    “But that future I don’t know if it means in two years’ time, in five years’ time or 11 years’ time, I don’t know yet.

    “So it’s nothing new. The first thing that I want to do and I will do is to win a third world championship in Formula One and then I’ll see.”

    Alonso’s passion and desire shone through as he discussed his trials and tribulations this season and he admits that some weekends still end up being truly painful for him.

    “The spin in Brazil for example, in the restart, that hurts for four or five days,” he says referring to the tough wet race at Interlagos a fortnight ago.

    alonso-graph

    “I think you cannot switch off (after having a tough race). When a bad weekend or a bad race happens, especially when it’s because of your performance or your mistakes, it hurts and you cannot switch off completely.

    “So you go through those mistakes, you try to understand and to be ready for the next opportunity, maybe making other mistakes but never the same one again.”

    Finishing the season on a high is a top priority for Alonso and he has high expectations in Abu Dhabi on a circuit he believes suits the McLaren car particularly the low-speed corners.

    “There are two long straights, that’s true, but I think this year with the deployment that we have and with the improvement with the engine, it’s not as painful as last year, we’re not afraid of these two straights,” he declares.

    “Looking at last year’s performance, Abu Dhabi was one of our best circuits and we felt very competitive in every session, also in qualifying, even if we had a small problem. And then in the race we missed our opportunities with an incident in the first corner with (Pastor) Maldonado so it was a chance that we missed last year but we were looking forward to this last part of the championship to arrive here.

    “In my opinion it’s going to be a good weekend in terms of performance so let’s see if we can finish on a high.

    “There are some priorities for this weekend as well for the Constructors’ Championship with Toro Rosso, 12 points that we need to defend somehow here so that’s the first priority, but the second is to risk a little bit more and to finish on a very good result.”

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