VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES PRE-SPAIN Q&As - FERNANDO
ALONSO & LEWIS HAMILTON
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis
Hamilton outline in the following Q&As their feelings
regarding the season so far, whilst looking ahead as Formula
1 arrives in Europe for Fernando’s home race.
FERNANDO ALONSO
How would you summarise the start of the season both
for you and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team?
"It has been great. I am extremely happy with the performance
of the car and the first three races. Also I am very, very
happy to have already got my first victory for Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes, which was one of our goals, well my personal target
for the whole season, and it came very early, so I am happy
for that."
What has been your personal highlight of the first
three races?
"Well no doubt that is the Malaysian Grand Prix. It was
perfect for me from Friday through to Sunday, finishing with
the victory for me with Lewis second, the whole Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes team was in a perfect position."
Did the performance of the MP4-22 meet your expectations?
"Well I think it has done even more than I personally
expected from the first three races. There were unknowns about
the new rules, the new tyres, the engine freeze, with many
things changing from last year. You always expect with the
first three races to be seeing what you have to do and what
the others are doing as well, and then really attack from
the fourth race. But from the first moment in Australia the
performance of the car surprised me a little bit, but in a
good way."
How have you spent the time between the Bahrain and
Spanish Grands Prix?
"I have been to Woking, to the McLaren Technology Centre
for meetings with the engineers. I spent a couple of days
testing in Barcelona. I had some time at home in Switzerland.
Also we did some promotional work in the break. We had a month
free from racing so it was good time to work outside of the
car."
What are your expectations for the Spanish Grand
Prix and also looking forward to the remainder of the season?
"After the fantastic start to the season and with us
leading both the Championships, the expectation really is
to remain in that position, as long as we can and try to win
both Championships. This is a realistic target as we are in
good shape. For the Spanish Grand Prix and for the rest of
the season the target should be to beat Ferrari and the rest
of our opponents."
What are your current thoughts about both Championships,
are you predicting a season long battle, and who do you see
in it?
"Ferrari should be our main opponent and I see a very
interesting season in front of us, I think with no opportunity
for any of us to really open a gap and win the Championship
in a relaxed way. I think this is impossible this year and
we will see a very close fight all through the season, which
will be great for the sport."
You met with the entire McLaren Racing employees
at the McLaren Technology Centre last week, what was the purpose
of the session?
"Myself, Lewis and Pedro met with all the employees,
which is something we try to do once in a while, as it helps
to create an atmosphere in the team, so that all of us are
comfortable with each other and know each other. I don’t
get to spend time with a lot of the team, in particular those
based at the facility, but we are one team. We are two drivers
fighting for the Drivers’ Championship and fighting
together for the Constructors’ Championship and everyone
in the team must know that. We all know that there are only
17 races this year and we must not make a mistake. We are
all in the same group and every single person in the team
is crucial."
Can you outline the changes to the Circuit de Catalunya
prior to this year’s Grand Prix?
"I think the new chicane can offer us a little opportunity
to overtake on the main straight but I think also that the
last corner of the circuit was extremely nice from the drivers’
point of view, very challenging for driving. Now we have lost
that corner, but hopefully we see a lot of overtaking here
in the race."
What does it feel like to race at your home Grand
Prix with the support you receive from your home fans?
"It is fantastic. I think no doubt for any racing driver
to race at their home circuit is always something special
and something that you look forward to, and for me it is exactly
the same. I think in Spain now the passion for Formula 1 is
very high and the people are enjoying this sport which is
new for them. So I am very, very happy to be here."
Do you want to win the Spanish Grand Prix more than
the other 16?
"No doubt. I think if I had to choose just one race to
win it will always be the Spanish Grand Prix."
Are there any extra pressures because it is your
home race?
"No there is no extra pressure. Perhaps there is a little
extra work to do outside the car as I have a lot of people
coming to the race; some commitments with important people
that come here to wish me good luck. Whenever I am in the
car it is probably the most relaxed I feel all weekend. I
do not feel the pressure when I am sitting in the cockpit
and at the end of the day, that is what matters."
Is the MP4-22 suited to the characteristics of the
Circuit de Catalunya?
"In a way yes as it is a very aerodynamic circuit, which
I think is one of the strong points of our car. But for me
I find it really difficult to see which are the best circuits
for our car. We have been racing in three completely different
circuits so far, and in all three the car was really good,
so hopefully this car will suit all the tracks."
How does it feel to be returning to Spain with you
leading the Drivers’ title and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
heading the Constructors’ Championship?
"This is a fantastic feeling without a doubt. No one
expected to be in this situation coming to the first European
race. For me it is also good as I have been in this position
coming into Spain in 2005 and 2006, and now in 2007 after
moving team and after a lot of expectations. So three years
in a row we have arrived at my home Grand Prix leading both
the Championships. Hopefully it will not be the last, and
we will do the same next year for the fourth time."
It was a fantastic, and no doubt emotional, weekend
for you in Spain last year, what are your memories of the
event?
"I remember all the weekend very well, because it is
one of those moments that are very difficult to forget. The
whole weekend was fantastic, it was my first victory at my
home Grand Prix and I really enjoyed that moment. It will
be difficult to forget any single minute of that weekend."
Finally, what message would you like to give to your
Spanish fans prior to your home race?
"For all of them, I hope they enjoy the race that is
the most important thing. At the end of the day the result
is a little bit about luck and in Formula 1 there are thousands
of elements that can change the result of one race. I hope
the fans understand that and so do not relate everything to
the result, which we hope will be 100% for us. Even if we
win the race, or we finish second, the most important thing
is that they enjoy the event. It is not only one and a half
hours, the fans that are coming for the Grand Prix, they enjoy
the whole three days and that is the thing. But I hope that
they enjoy it!"
LEWIS HAMILTON
How would you summarise the start of the season both
for you and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team?
"I think we have definitely started off on the right
foot. We have done a fantastic job, that is not just the team
at the track but also everyone back at the McLaren Technology
Centre and Mercedes-Benz in Brixworth and Stuttgart. It really
feels like we have all pulled together and you can see that
all the hard work has really paid off with such great results
at this early stage of the season. To come straight into a
new and fresh start for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team
and to have had a one-two finish in the second race, it couldn’t
have really been a better start. But it is only the start,
there is a long way to go this season and for me in the sport,
and we are taking things step by step."
What has been your personal highlight of the first
three races?
"There has been three highlights. In Australia I had
my first Formula 1 podium in my first race. But also to have
been battling with the Ferrari’s in my second Grand
Prix and having them both behind me was cool. Then in Bahrain
to be hunting down a Ferrari felt good."
Did the performance of the MP4-22 meet your expectations?
"The work we put in through testing, engineering and
design work at the facility meant that the preparation was
comprehensive. However, you don’t know until you get
on track what performance will be like, so I didn’t
know we would do as well as we have done, to be leading both
the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships at
only the third race of the season. It is the result of all
the hard work everyone has put in and are still continuing
to do, in fact we are pushing harder."
How have you spent the time between the Bahrain and
Spanish Grands Prix?
"Preparing. I got back to the UK having been away since
before Australia and it was good to get home and to see my
family and friends. I spent a couple of days catching-up on
what has been going on in their lives over the past seven
months when I have not been spending time with them because
I have been 100% focused on the build up to the start of the
season. Last Monday I was back at work, back at the facility,
meeting with the team, spending time with my engineer, preparing
in the simulator for the next two races and making sure I
am even fitter for the next race. There is no resting on our
laurels."
What are your expectations for the Spanish Grand
Prix?
"I never go with expectations, I go with a target. That
is to be at the front, and the ultimate aim to win, which
is the mentality I have always gone racing with."
Did you ever imagine that you would be starting the
European season as joint points leader in the Drivers’
table?
"No, definitely not. Going into your first season you
don’t expect to be joint leading the Drivers’
Championship. It was only last year I was watching the Grands
Prix, it is unreal. It is also very cool and I am enjoying
it, it shows our true pace and I hope that I can continue
to score points and build on the start to the season."
Do you believe you are a genuine Championship contender
this year?
"You have to have the belief that you can succeed in
order to ensure you have the commitment, that is true for
anything in any walk of life. So long as we continue having
one of the leading cars and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes continues
being one of the top two teams then there is no reason why
we can’t challenge for the Constructors’ and Drivers’
titles. We need to keep what we have, we need to work on the
reliability of the car and make sure we don’t have any
DNFs and focus on pushing forward performance."
Do you feel you will win your first Grand Prix this
season?
"Yes. I don’t want that to come across as a cocky
answer, it is just my feeling."
What was it like to return to the UK for the first
time since Australia, did you notice any changes?
"Yes, obviously just the whole attention that you get.
People coming up to me and being extremely nice, saying congratulations,
fantastic job. It is pleasing to see how many people I have
made happy. It makes me happy that they are happy and it is
quite a buzz. But in general my life is still very much the
same, I am still your average young guy and I am just getting
on with my thing."
What has been the reaction of your family and friends
to your debut races?
"For my family, they have always been supportive, known
what I am doing, how I am progressing and their reaction is
as normal. They are always extremely excited and proud. For
my friends, apart from last year where we had comprehensive
TV coverage in GP2, when I’ve told them I’ve been
racing they have not really been able to see what I have been
doing. When you see things on TV, it is a bit different still,
but they can understand what I am doing. My close friends
are extremely proud and some of them have said ‘So that’s
where you have been all this time’!"
Before the start of the season, there was talk of
pressure on you for making your debut with a leading team.
Following your positive start to the season, do you feel there
is a different kind of pressure now, and how do you handle
it?
"I don’t feel any more pressure than I started
with. There will always be pressure from outside, but the
pressure I put on myself is more important and motivational."
You raced at the Circuit de Catalunya last year,
do you enjoy the track?
"I had a good experience at Barcelona last year, It is
a great track. I don’t know how different it will be
to race there this year with the changes to the circuit. Last
year I had a mega race there, even though I finished second,
I hope this year I can do one step better."
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