Renault's top F1 driver, Fernando Alonso, sits in eighth place with just nine points this year. Alonso is a two-time world champion in a Renault seat and came close last year, but was held back by a terrific rookie campaign of McLaren-Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton and the coming-of-age of Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari.This year, from Australia; through Malaysia; Bahrain; Spain; and Turkey, Fernando has failed to gain pole position while also failing to finish atop the podium. Earning the second position on the grid in Spain, his home race, alerted us all to the fact that perhaps, 'there was something in the air tonight', but alas, Fernando didn't even finish the race.
With all this frustration in mind, Fernando Alonso did a Q&A with Autosport. Here are some of the more telling quotes.
-----
On being too far from the top but also better than the pack: "...if Williams, Toyota or Red Bull improve a lot they would catch us so you are always fighting, but let's see if we can keep on moving forward."
On improvements for the Monaco race: "No, we don't have anything planned..."
On the chances of a surprise at Monaco: "....but in the end it's always a McLaren or a Ferrari winning or Renault like in 2006. The cars that have been winning all season arrive at Monaco and win too..."
On Renault's hope for improvement: "But now we know that with three or four tenths we could be up there so everybody is trying to get that."
On driving at his favourite tracks: "We are going to every track with the aim of doing our best, to try to have fun, because we don't have the pressure of being fighting for the championship, so if it goes well, great, but if it goes bad we'll try to get it right."
On his present car: "So this race has confirmed we have taken a step forward and that we are right behind the top teams. And now we need to take the most important step."
No comments:
Post a Comment