FERNANDO ALONSO Interview May 8, 2008

(from autosport)


Q. Can the team continue the Barcelona promise here?

Fernando Alonso: I hope so. I think it's the thing we are hoping because we knew that the car was better and we improved the car before Barcelona but it was better than we expected - the pace we had in Barcelona, it was a nice surprise so we don't want to think it was just a special race and the circuit suited our car.

And we want to confirm the pace here in Turkey and anyway the position is not as good as we want because we are still fighting for seventh place and the top three teams are still a little bit ahead of us.

But if we confirm this performance, it's a great achievement because we are close – the next step we introduce to the car can put us in the fight for the top three so first of all hopefully we can confirm this performance.

Q. How has the car improved?

FA: More grip so it's like driving with more downforce and you don't have so much wheelspin and in the corners it feel easier to drive and you make less mistakes because the car has more grip. We still need to do some work to catch the front-runners but obviously now is a little bit easier than three weeks ago.

Q. Will Turn Eight be very demanding this year?

FA: Not really. It is very special and a unique corner in the championship but it is not the corner that you improve or lose a lot over a timed lap. It is not that important. It's a special corner when you are driving because you have a good feeling in the corner with the g-forces and a long time in the corner but it's not the only place you have to focus on this track.

Q. You were aggressive in Barcelona, is that the way to go here too?

FA: We'll see. Every race will be different approach because it all depends on the pace you have on Friday in the long runs and the pace you have in qualy. If you're struggling to be in Q3 there is no reason to be too aggressive because you will lose so much.

If you are more or less okay in Q2, maybe you can be more aggressive and fight for the first row of the grid, but I think it will change from race to race but I still think the result will be more or less similar. You can start at the front and finish seventh, you can start seventh and finish seventh.

Q. When did you decide your Barcelona strategy?

FA: Normally, we have two or three possibilities in our minds and we wait for Q1 and Q2 and the team chooses the best one depending on the results. We have one or two in mind, but the final decision is made after Q2.

Q. Will you be more competitive here or in Monte Carlo?

FA: I don't know. I think it will be difficult for everybody to know how competitive we will be in Monte Carlo. Everybody will be the same because it's such a special track and with no electronics will be quite different compared to the last couple of year.

To be honest, maybe I have more confidence for here than for Monte Carlo because one of the problems we suffer more this year and we struggle a little bit is with traction with this car. And MC is one of the key things to be quick so hopefully we need to find some good set-up and possibilities for the traction otherwise we won't be too competitive there.

Q. Are the starts a concern for the team?

FA: Yeah, we knew unfortunately that the Ferrari was starting much better than us. We've done some calculations after the races and we saw already in the first three races that Ferrari is the best car off the starting grid. I think I had too much wheelspin in Barcelona to be honest.

After the first 30-40 metres they were okay and I had a little too much wheelspin and I lost all acceleration from that point. It's something we need to work on – and that's all the team except Ferrari. My start compared to Kubica, Hamilton and those guys was quite similar and the only two guys starting better than the others was the two Ferraris so we need to improve.

Q. Does Ferrari hold an advantage over all others?

FA: Yes, I think so.

 

Thanks for the article Ron. Now you see why he wants to be in the Ferrari so bad.

 

He only has to wait a few more months...