Question: Pace-wise the car seems to be in the lower points bracket so far. Do you expect the same situation in Monaco this weekend?
Fernando Alonso: At the moment we expect the same as at the races before. Even if Monaco is a special track, we always see the strong cars of the respective season winning, e.g. McLaren or Renault in the last few years. Usually the car that wins the championship is also one of the strongest in Monaco. It is not as if this special racetrack also completely changes the grid. But it is also true that Monaco has a special set-up for the cars, like very soft tyres, a lot of down force, so it might be true that some cars perform better than expected, and some perform worse than expected. We also know that it is very important to be very confident in and with your car, and to be able to attack and race very close to the barriers to achieve a fast lap time. It is one of the priorities to feel comfortable in the car and also for the engine, to get a very good drivability. We are quite optimistic, as this is one of the races that can give you quite some opportunities, and we will go for it. We want to go for the top five.
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Question: So how difficult is it to concentrate on racing, when you perhaps have doubts over where you will be driving next season?
Fernando Alonso: I try to concentrate on the business and switch off. We are here in Monaco, and I will 100 percent concentrate on the Grand Prix. It was true that last week at home I was asking myself if this will be the last time for me racing here in Monaco. Of course if the manufacturers decide to leave Formula One I would not want to race with a small team. If this were to happen, then this would not be Formula One anymore and there are many other categories. For me it is strange that no one sits down and starts thinking how much this is damaging this great sport, to give three or four new teams the possibility to enter, but lose maybe seven manufacturers, and also ten of the best drivers in the world.
Question: Is it true that you plan to compete in the Le Mans 24-hour race?
Fernando Alonso: Yes, and I will probably also do it more often, which does not mean that this is my ‘plan B’. I am only 27 years old and have won the Formula One world championship twice, so there are also other categories to win.
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