Марфуша

17.10.2008 Fernando ALONSO He may not be a championship contender, but Fernando Alonso has already made his mark on the decisive final stage of the season, with wins in Singapore and Fuji that made the title challengers look pale by comparison. After admitting he would be happy to help Felipe Massa to the crown, only Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix will reveal whether the Spaniard and his Renault are able to tip the balance. But after going second fastest in second practice, it appears they just might... Q: Fernando, seeing you in the first corner it appears that the car goes really well on this track. You’ve been the quickest there. What is your impression? Fernando Alonso: Yes, the car felt pretty good but we had some issues with the tyres - like everybody else - so we have to analyze the situation and work on some set-up changes tonight. Otherwise it felt good and I have been able to do quite a lot of laps that gave us some good information. So we see tomorrow if we can translate our findings of today into performance tomorrow. Q: You say tyre issues - does that mean with both types of tyres? FA: I’ve done almost similar times with both types so there was not a big difference and tomorrow morning in the practice we will again do a tyre test to make the optimal selection for the qualifying. Q: Analyzing all the data coming from the car is one thing, but in the end it comes down to basic engineering, like the suspension and aerodynamics... FA: Well the data is very important, but they have to be evaluated and this happens at a race weekend overnight, rather then instantly. The next morning we will get the results and maximize the suspension and the aerodynamic setup with these data. Q: We are in the final stage of the championship. You have been in such a situation a few times before, so you are familiar with tensing up for the big showdown. How can you avoid such a state and keep cool? FA: Well, this is nothing unique to Formula One - you have it in every sport and everybody in such a situation has his own unique approach to manage the stress. But that’s part of the game. Q: When you said yesterday that you would help Felipe win the championship, was that a sort of sweet revenge for last season? FA: I prefer to see a Ferrari win than a McLaren coming from last year no doubt. What I find surprising is that such a notion had such a repercussion everywhere. When I see a tennis match I prefer one player over the other, the same goes for a soccer match. And when I see a fight between a Ferrari and a McLaren I prefer the Ferrari to win and I don’t understand all that hype about it. Q: That might well be true when being a spectator at a tennis or soccer match, as you are not able to interfere. But being one of the drivers on the grid you might be able to act in favour of one or the other... FA: Well, I think here it will be difficult to help in any way as the Ferraris and Mclaren are very quick and they will be in front of everybody else so it will be entirely up to them to win the race. In Fuji and Singapore I was able to be in front on the grid so it was different. Here it will be different, so I will watch the race like a spectator. Q: Do you think you will be fighting for the championship again next year? FA: I always said when asked when I will come back winning that I need another year. And I really believe that with whatever team I will be with next season that I will be able to fight for the championship. We will work very hard over the winter. I am pretty confident for that. Q: After your victories in Singapore and Fuji where do you see the Renault this weekend? Do you see yourself in front of BMW Sauber and Toyota here? FA: Other than in Singapore and Fuji I think that we are a little bit too far away from the front runners. In Singapore and Fuji we were four-tenths or half a second behind Ferrari and McLaren, here we are eight or nine-tenths away so this could mean that we are behind BMW. The race pace should be okay, but in qualifying I think that top six or seven is the realistic target. Q: Today the FIA requested tenders for a unified engine for 2010. What is your stance on all cars running on the same engine? FA: I think with unified engines and tyres it comes down more to the driver qualities, but I don’t think it is good for Formula One to be honest. We have big brands here in the paddock: Toyota, BMW, Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari, and it would seem strange that we all race with the same engine. A Toyota car, a Renault car, a Mercedes car - this would no longer be Formula One.

1.09.2008 Fernando ALONSO Q: Fernando, you had to retire early from your second home Grand Prix in Valencia. You must have been extremely disappointed... Fernando Alonso: I knew that my weekend would be difficult after qualifying - starting so far down the field on a street circuit is never where you want to be. I was hit on the first lap and lost my rear wing. My mechanics did everything to try and get me back out, but my race was already compromised. I'm disappointed not to have been able to drive in front of my supporters as I wanted to give them a special race, but that's in the past now and I am looking forward to the race in Belgium. Q: As you say, this weekend is the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa. Is it a circuit that you enjoy? FA: Spa is one of those exceptional circuits on the Formula One calendar. Like all the older circuits, there is always a very special and warm atmosphere. For the drivers, Spa is an unbelievable challenge and is a very enjoyable place to drive a Formula One car. I have never won at Spa and hope that one day I can add a win here to my list of achievements. Q: What are the demands of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit? FA: It's a very long circuit, which generally emphasises the gaps between the cars. It requires a very complete car and so we will have to work hard on the set-up to make sure we are competitive in the quick sections as well as in the slower corners. The compression in Eau Rouge is still an impressive part of the circuit. Q: Do you think you can have a strong race in Spa as the team chases fourth position in the constructors' championship? FA: Even though the European Grand Prix turned out to be a race to forget, we should not lower our aims. I am sure that the team is giving 100 percent to achieve our objective and I will also give my maximum to try and get a strong result and score some points. At the beginning of the season things were not easy, but we have improved and we are determined to continue in this direction. 5.09.2008 Fernando ALONSO Q. Are you happy with today's result? Fernando Alonso: Yes, I am pleased as always when you are at the top of the timesheets. We know it is not important as it is only Friday but it provides good motivation for me, the team, the mechanics and everybody. So I am more happy than some other days. The work we did with the car, the set-up, etc, was also interesting. We follow the programme we had this morning and everything went well with some clear results - some positive and some negative. We need to analyse everything tonight and tomorrow hopefully start with the best car possible. Q. Are you expecting a stronger than normal weekend? FA: I don't think so. More or less, we will be in a similar situation compared to some other weekends. I think it is true that our normal position is a little bit unclear because sometimes we are eighth, sometimes we are seventh and sometimes we are 11th on the grid – so maybe this weekend is one of the good ones where we can be sixth or seventh. Obviously with Ferrari and McLaren there are four cars that are unbeatable, so you are fighting for fifth if you beat BMW Sauber and all these teams. So it is difficult to get something more than that. Q. Is this a circuit where the driver can still make a difference? FA: Obviously you have more chances to make a difference. It is true that circuits like Valencia, where it is only braking and accelerating, we all try to brake as late as possible and accelerate as soon as possible. When the car is good you can do it, but when the car is not good you cannot do it. Here in Spa there are some challenging corners where you need to play a little bit more with the racing line, the gearshift, with taking a bit more kerb or a bit less. The driver has something more to choose here in Spa than some other circuit. So obviously you can be a bit more important here. Q. How can you explain that on Friday you are top, but you are not expecting the same for the rest of the weekend? FA: I think it is unfortunately very clear. We ran with less fuel, probably, than the others – or I want to guess that. I cannot imagine that people, our competitors, they do not go as quick as they can on Friday. Everyone is trying the best on Fridays, but fuel loads are a big factor in F1 and our philosophy and strategy is to prepare the race and to prepare the qualifying as well. And, maybe some other teams they only prepare for the race. Q. Are you able to confirm that Renault are putting all their effort into next season's car? FA: I don't know. That is a better question for Flavio. I know that there is some work going on with the R29 for next year, but I think there is still some new parts coming for Monza with the R28. So it is not still 100 percent focused on next year, I think it is still 50/50. Q. Are you expecting rain for Sunday? FA: Not for Sunday. Our forecast is more optimistic for Sunday, with little chance of rain – no more than 20 percent. For tomorrow it is a bigger chance, like 50 percent, we have a clear possibility for rain. Q. How much more difficult is it to qualify with rain? FA: Very difficult I think. I don't remember many qualifyings in wet. We did Fuji, Shanghai I guess last year as well. And it is stressful because with this format you need to be on the track all the time because you never know if it is going to rain heavier at the end of that 15 minutes. Or if it doesn't rain the best lap will be the last lap. So you need to be on the track until the chequered flag. It is a very stressful hour, because you need to be on the track all the time improving the lap times – and we know Spa is dangerous in wet conditions. The white lines and kerbs are very slippery, and we saw this in GP2 and our practice. So a wet qualifying will be difficult for everybody. Q. How difficult is it for you to keep up your motivation now that you don't have such a competitive car? FA: You change your targets. We all want to win, we all want to fight for the championship but when you realise it is not possible you need to make a new target. For me now it is to help Renault finish in fourth in the constructors' championship, so my target from now until the end of the season is to beat Toyota. It doesn't matter if we are fifth or sixth, or 11th or 12th, we need to finish in front of them and hopefully in the points. That is the new motivation – you arrive to Monza, Spa, China, wherever, all weekend you are very, very focused because you want to reach your target. Q. It is only Friday but is seeing your name at the top of the timesheets a personal boost? FA: Yes, absolutely. It is only Friday and in Valencia I was P2 on Friday and I was out of Q3, so I don't know if it is a good start to the weekend! But Spa is also a special place. We all want to do well here in Spa and Monaco, these type of places, so the weekend has started very good and tomorrow is a much bigger challenge if we want to do well in qualifying.

Интересно, что с теми интервью, которые я выкладывала раньше? 23.08.2008 Fernando ALONSO Q. You said on Thursday that Renault were now consistently top six to eight in qualifying and able to regularly challenge for points. What happened today? Fernando Alonso: Today we were not quick enough, and we didn't arrive to Q3, which is always our main goal, and target. We have been in Q3 for the past nine or ten races, and today we were out so unfortunately we were not quick enough. We need to do better next time, we need to be better than our competitors and we need to see what we can do for tomorrow. And obviously for the next Grand Prix we need to improve. Q. Why do you think the performance here has been lower than normal? FA: It has been closer than normal, because I was P12 in Q2 and I was six tenths from Sebastian Vettel, who had the best time. It is a little bit strange than in six tenths you are in first position or 12th position. It has been very close, one or two tenths can make the difference. Sometimes we were lucky in the past to be in Q3 for half a tenth, and today we were the one who was half a tenth slower. So we need to make sure that we don't arrive to that point that half a tenth makes the difference. We need to be clearly ahead of our competitors and we have not the pace today. Q. We have seen in GP2 practice and their race today that small incidents guarantee the need for a safety car or red flag. Will tomorrow be more about good luck with safety cars as about pure pace? FA: It can be! You never know. For sure there is a high chance of safety car at this track and we knew that before we came here - after seeing the F3 race one month ago. We saw today again, in GP2, the first lap and the first incident and there is a safety car. So tomorrow there is a high chance that we will have a safety car. If you can do something with the strategy or not is very difficult, because you need to know which lap exactly how to stop one lap before the safety car! And it is impossible to predict when there will be an accident, so you need to race with your fingers crossed tomorrow. Q. Were you organising the Spanish flag stickers on the helmets? FA: No. I was the one that was responsible to make the flags! But the decision came from the drivers' briefing. I don't know who raised the point, but at one point I found myself in charge of making 20 flags for tomorrow. So I just did that. Q. But you must be happy that all the drivers showed their respect yesterday and will wear the flags tomorrow? FA: Yes. It is a great sign of respect from all of us. We are all united about these things, and tomorrow will be a minute of silence tomorrow again with all the drivers at 1.48pm on the grid. I think I am very proud of this type of thing from my colleagues. Q. Can you say a word about Sebastian Vettel? Are you surprised about his performance? FA: Not really. We know the Red Bull is one of the quickest cars now, and they have the Ferrari engine – so obviously they have maybe an advantage there. We saw today, two exactly same cars, two Red Bulls and two Toro Rossos. One was in pole position and one was out of Q1 and Q2. I think Toro Rosso now is clearly in front of Red Bull after the last couple of races. Today, I think he did very well but also Sebastien Bourdais is in Q3 and fighting for good positions – so when the Toro Rosso is competitive we know that Sebastian will be in the top positions. It was a great performance, a great weekend and I think tomorrow they have a very high chance to score many points. It is another competitor that we have now.

Статья из журнала Pro Sport Всего за год Фернандо Алонсо успел отобрать титул у Шумахера, стать первым испанцем - чемпионом мира в "Формуле-1" и найти себе новую команду. Накануне сезона-2006 Евгения Головко (Quattroruote), много лет следившая за карьерой испанца, специально для PROспорт побеседовала с ним. А в процессе диалога вспомнила о своих встречах с нынешним чемпионом.

Хорошо выглядит и рубашечка классная.

10/12/2001 Алонсо - Человек года Журнал "Autopista" ("Шоссе") назвал Фернандо Алонсо Человеком года за его хороший дебют в Формуле-1 за рулем Minardi. 24/12/2001 la Gala de la Solidaridad de Oviedo Концерт Солидарности в Овьедо, на который астурийский пилот приезжает каждый год

Фернандо Алонсо и Роб Смедли на пути к Формуле-1 Роб Смедли работал с Фернандо в Формуле-3000. «Я знал его мальчишкой! Хотя, если честно, мы оба весьма тогда были мальчишками, – говорит Смедли. – Он в действительности реалистично смотрит на вещи, и работать с ним можно необыкновенно очень продуктивно. И еще одно – он надо признаться сложный человек».

Вообще-то не должны разрешить.

Он сам им приготовит.

Ура! Ярно с контрактом!!! Может ещё Джанкорло подпишут, раз так нравятся итальянцы.

СУПЕРРРРРРРРРР

Ярно был такой светленький в детстве.

Теперь всё понятно: Рос, покупает разорившуюся команду за бесценок, приводит её к чемпионству и продаёт в разы дороже; на часть вырученных денег покупает другую команду, приводит её к чемпионству и снова продаёт в разы дороже.

Я не хочу Ярно в НАСКАРе, там я не смогу видеть его гонки.

Глядя на такую зрелищную борьбу и стремление пилота быть впереди, они должны не злиться, а задуматься о продлении контракта.