FERNANDO ALONSO AND LEWIS HAMILTON PRE-SEASON Q&As
As the build-up for the start of the 2007 Formula 1 World
Championship intensifies, the following Q&As see Vodafone
McLaren Mercedes drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton
discuss their preparations for the new season with their new
team. The thoughts of Martin Whitmarsh and Norbert Haug will
follow shortly.
FERNANDO ALONSO
Outline your feelings as we head into the Australian
Grand Prix and the start of the new season.
I’m optimistic and confident that we can have a good
result. But the first race is always different, anything can
happen in Australia. We normally see some surprising results,
so you never know; you definitely cannot make any predictions.
We need to be calm, we need to do a good job and hopefully
finish in the points.
What is your aim for the race in Melbourne?
First is to finish the race, Australia is always very demanding,
so that has to be the first aim.
How has the pre-season test programme progressed?
It has been very good. The first time we put the MP4-22 on
the track it felt competitive, but there was work to do. We
have progressed a lot in some of the areas where we were not
so strong and are much more ready now.
What are your overall expectations for the 2007 season?
I hope to fight for the title. To be honest, I think that
after winning the title two times, the Championship should
be our target and we have to focus everything to fight for
it. Sometimes you can win, sometimes not, it depends on many
factors, but you have to at least be involved in the battle.
How does it feel to be racing this year with a new
team, do you feel at home with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes?
I feel very at home, it has been very good since I joined.
The team has been very welcoming and I felt really comfortable
from the first moment working with everybody.
Is the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 ready to
race?
I think it is ready to race and we will see how competitive
the MP4-22 is in Australia. We have improved the package a
lot and we want to get out there, but I think our competitors
probably have the same approach and the same feelings. It
is time to put everybody on track in Melbourne and see how
quick we are, and how quick they are.
Expectations for you and the team are high this year,
do you feel under pressure to win a third world championship
in a row?
Expectations are high for me personally because I won the
title in the last two seasons. So the combination between
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and me only adds to these expectations.
But it is our first season together; there are a lot of new
rules, a lot of drivers changing teams, so it is impossible
to say. I think the future will be fantastic for the team,
this season we will try hard to win, but for sure the most
challenging season we will have together is this one.
Do you enjoy racing in Australia, and if so why?
The circuit itself is not one of my favourites, but the atmosphere
is very special and unique so I enjoy going to Australia a
lot. We go there normally one week before the race, to acclimatise
to the time difference. Because you spend more days there
than other races, you have time to enjoy the city and the
people. Australians are very passionate about this Grand Prix
and Formula 1, so it makes all the drivers and all the teams
extremely happy because of the fantastic welcome we receive.
LEWIS HAMILTON
Outline your feelings as we head into the Australian
Grand Prix and the start of the new season.
I am really excited. It is difficult to absorb it and realise
that I am going to be making my Formula 1 debut, as it is
something that I have been working towards for so many years.
My brother and I have always been playing Formula 1 games
on the computer, and now I am going to be one of the cars
in those games! Always at this time of year I have been looking
forward to the first grand prix, getting up early and watching
the Australian Grand Prix, but now I’m actually going
to be on the grid. There are so many different emotions but
excitement is definitely the main part. I am just eager to
get out there and do the best possible job.
What is your aim for the race in Melbourne?
My aim would be to finish, preferably in the points. It would
be great to have a steady first race and get a couple of points
for myself and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. That would
be a really fantastic start to the season, but it is not going
to be easy.
How has the pre-season test programme progressed?
Testing has been going well, I’ve been really happy
with how I’ve gelled with the team and my engineer,
Phil Prew. He is a great guy and has made it a lot easier
for me to absorb everything and to understand the MP4-22.
On track alongside the development work with the MP4-22, we’ve
done race simulations, including pit stops and other race
weekend activities. Everyone within the team is really keen
to push hard, and we feel quick, so I am happy going into
the start of the season but it is a complete unknown.
What are your overall expectations for the 2007 season?
To do a solid job for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team,
but I’m a competitior and I want to win at everything
I do. So I am going to take this season step by step, and
learn as much as I can. I have spent the last three months
intensively learning, and I will continue this during the
season. I want to win, but have to be realistic, if I was
to get a podium this year it would be really amazing, so I’ve
got to work towards that.
Do you feel ready to be making your Formula 1 debut
with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes?
People have been asking me this question since the announcement
was made in November that I had the drive with Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes. Initially I felt that I was ready for the challenge
of preparing to be a Formula 1 driver, but I wasn’t
ready to go out and do a race. Now I know the ins and outs
of the MP4-22, I know the team, about strategies, I know what
I need to do in qualifying, how to use the Bridgestone Potenzas
and so on. I really am more than ready now, as a rookie coming
in I feel incredibly prepared.
What are you looking forward to the most about racing
in Formula 1?
Definitely driving the MP4-22! When they first start the
car up and you are sitting in it, you can’t help but
smile. When you pull out of the pits and you have that power
behind you and the car is so finely tuned, it is so exhilarating.
Then the adrenaline starts pumping and your out there doing
your job. That’s what I love about it and when I get
on the grid in Melbourne and am sat in front of the red lights,
that will be the best moment so far in my life.
Albert Park is one of seven circuits that you will
be racing on for the first time this year, how do you prepare
for that?
The main preparation has been to spend some time on the simulator
at the McLaren Technology Centre, which allows me to get an
understanding of the tracks. All the hard work preparation
wise is done, now it is all about staying relaxed and keeping
everything cool for the first race as it will become more
intense as we get closer. When you are relaxed everything
tends to go smoother, and that is my plan!
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