Question: Fernando, another pole to flag victory but you had to work extremely hard for this one in every sense. Just 0.2 seconds the winning margin.
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, very good stuff. The race was long and with the safety car problems and also the people we were lapping especially at the end we found a group of five cars. They lost one lap and it was difficult to lap them. There was a yellow flag on the straight because of the Lotus problem, the car on fire, so we could not overtake there so, it was difficult to manage the gap with the guys in front. Not to overtake under the yellow, anything like that, so a lot of precaution in the last couple of laps, taking it very easy. We know how difficult it is to overtake here, so I just controlled the gap with Sebastian as much as I could and not taking any risk.
Question: Fernando, two hours driving in these temperatures. Tell us how hard that was physically and how much this win means for you today.
Fernando Alonso: Well, it was very difficult. We knew that before we came here. We know Singapore physically is maybe the toughest race of the season. Two hours with this humidity in a street circuit with no time to breathe, 24, 25 corners, so it was tough to drive. This wins means a lot. Coming from Monza we knew that that was a unique lay-out, so we wanted to confirm in a normal track - even if Singapore is still a very special lay-out as well - but with more downforce that the car is performing well. We did it, so this win means a lot to keep in the fight in the championship. We know there are still four races to go but it seems we can be competitive in any track, so thanks to the team. Great job at the factory. Great job at the track as well getting 100 per cent of our potential all the time, so let’s see in the remaining races. Forza Ferrari!
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Formula 1: Pole Sitter Fernando Alonso Wins Singapore Grand Prix
Formula 1: Singapore Grand Prix - Race Results
Video: Lewis Hamilton Unharmed After Crash in Singapore Grand Prix
Question: Fernando, you have scored the most points of anybody in the last five races. Should we bet our money on you now for the championship?
Fernando Alonso: I think it remains very tight. All five contenders still have the same possibilities. Mark has a little bit more with still some margin to have a bad weekend not putting at risk the contention of the championship. For the others we need to keep catching if we can. We will do our best. We do not know if it will be enough to become champion in Abu Dhabi. But we will give 100 per cent. Hopefully it is enough but people can be sure we will fight until the end.
Question: Fernando, the pace just seemed to be absolutely relentless. So fast all the way. What sort of percentage were you on?
Fernando Alonso: First stint 100 per cent or 95 as we knew that we had to open a gap first from Webber as he stopped and we had this 30 seconds to open a gap to be able to stop and stay in front of him as he stopped when the safety car was out. To open this gap we were pushing maximum and then to open as much gap to Sebastian to have a little easy pit stop with him not too close. But after putting on the prime tyres obviously we reduced the pace and once with engine side and then mechanical side and then with the driving style as well. We knew that overtaking is nearly impossible here, so we knew we had to avoid any mistake. The walls are very close here and we just try to control the backmarkers as you can lose a lot of time. That was the risky point only.
Question: Physically, from a concentration point of view also?
Fernando Alonso: Not the easiest race for sure. We know physically it is probably the toughest one. The humidity, lay-out with no time to breathe. A lot of corners, 24, 25 corners, so very demanding physically but also concentration-wise we know that it is the longest race of the championship, nearly two hours driving with no room to make a mistake in terms of walls, etc. Tough but we knew it and we were prepared. All the drivers finished the race in the best condition possible.
Question: Fernando, before Monza you rated your championship chances about fifty percent. How would you rate your chances now?
Fernando Alonso: When I said fifty, it was yes or no, I can win or I cannot win. It depends on how things and how the races go. In fact if we are five drivers, we have around a twenty per cent chance each of us, maybe Mark a little bit more because he’s in front. We saw now, in two races, I was very bad after Spa in terms of championship points, not any more for the title fight. People thought a very bad 2010 championship etc, a lot of mistakes and now, after two races I am second in the championship, eleven points behind Mark, I think. Anything can happen in these four races, any of us can win two or three consecutive races and put you in a very good position or you have one or two retirements and you are completely out of it, you are mathematically out of the championship. So we need to keep concentration, keep the focus and as I said, the chances for all of us are more or less the same. It will depend on how these four races go, hopefully with no mistakes, with very high concentration from all the team and hopefully we keep the same way and keep momentum in Japan as well.
Question: Fernando, is today the moment in the year that you are more convinced, more concerned that you can win the championship?
Fernando Alonso: Well, having a championship that is ten months long, or nine months, doesn’t happen in any other sport normally, even the football league is not that long. We are in a sport where you cannot be a hundred percent or you cannot be completely fit, focused, motivated one hundred percent all the races, every month, so we go up and down, this is normal for all the sports. We can say that now, in this part of the championship I’m at a peak, one hundred percent of motivation, concentration etc., so it’s good to arrive now. Sometimes in the championship, in September, I was getting tired, all these long flights now, at the end of the championship, very stressed all championship long. This year it is different. It feels like the championship starts now, so I feel very happy to go to Japan straight away.
Question: Fernando, how do you rate your Ferrari for the last four tracks?
Fernando Alonso: I think some of them will suit our car a little bit better, some of them a little bit better for McLaren or Red Bull but we need to get the maximum out of our car. We know that sometimes we will be on pole, sometimes we will be third but there’s nothing we can do. We remain more or less confident after the Spa performance and the pace in the race here and qualifying yesterday, so we don’t have any particular worries at any of the tracks but we also know that there will be some weekends which will be very difficult for us with Red Bull very strong or McLaren, so we need to really keep getting the maximum out of the car. It’s impossible to know which tracks but I’m sure that we will have some which will be tough for all of us, sometimes for one team, sometimes for others.
Question: Fernando, in Hungary the disadvantage from the Red Bull guys was quite huge. How did you recover as a team and this is one of your tracks, you’ve won twice and been third. How have you achieved this improvement personally?
Fernando Alonso: Budapest, I think, is still a very different track compared to this one. There, I think Red Bull fulfilled a hundred percent of their potential. It was a circuit that was really good for them. Set-up, strategy, everything worked fine for them and maybe we didn’t get the maximum from ourselves in Budapest and here maybe it was the opposite. The characteristics of the car are not only important but also the set-up and approach to the weekend itself. Here in Singapore, I really love this track. As you said, for whatever reasons it suits my driving style very well. Both years at Renault we were not in Q3 most of the championship, and we arrived in Singapore and we were quickest. This year, also, it’s been a good weekend for me, so it’s still a very special circuit for me.
Question: Fernando, was this the most precise race you have ever done, optimum all the time?
Fernando Alonso: No, I don’t know. I think I did some better races last year but people, when you’re eleventh, don’t worry too much about your race. When you are in a Ferrari and you win a race everyone is looking at you and supporting you. I think we always try to drive well, make no mistakes, very precisely, especially on this type of circuit but today was team work again with a good preparation yesterday, a good pit stop, good strategy, good management of the tyres, brakes etc., so there are many factors to win the Singapore Grand Prix and Ferrari did everything OK again. So thanks to the team.
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