He is the driver who has competed in the most Grand Prix in F1. But he also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Daytona 500. And he also took part in the Indianapolis 500 and the Paris-Dakar. This man is of course Fernando Alonso.
The most experienced driver in the world currently competing, Fernando Alonso continues to delight his fans and his Aston Martin F1 team in the paddock.
Delight his fans? As at the last Brazilian Grand Prix, last year… the Spaniard beat Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull at the finish, for 3rd place and his last podium. Overtaken by Checo on the penultimate lap, he passed him again on the last loop to finish 53 thousandths ahead of him!
Changes in trajectory, positioning of the car in corners, braking, tire wear… Fernando Alonso, with an inferior car, then delivered a masterclass. But how do you find the perfect balance between defense and attack? The Spaniard confided his secrets to us…
“You learn in years of karting how to defend and explore all the possibilities and strengths of your car. This could be top speed, traction or performance in fast or slow corners. Then you choose different parts of the circuit where you have to go very fast to avoid any attack from the car behind, and other parts where you have to save a little. »
“There are always things that if you play a little more cautiously at the beginning, you will have an advantage later in the round or relay. You have to process those thoughts and make those decisions very quickly in a race, because the car isn’t the same – it doesn’t weigh the same, there’s less fuel and the tires are older. You’re constantly thinking in the car about ways to attack and defend. »
“It’s like your brain is a hard drive, everything you know is on that hard drive and you access it when you need it in those moments. »
Fernando Alonso’s hard drive is full! And there is clearly room in the Spaniard’s living memory.
During the Miami Grand Prix last year, Fernando Alonso surprised everyone by commenting on… Lance Stroll’s overtaking of Alexander Albon, which he had seen on giant screens! But how can he watch a race on a giant screen while negotiating the tight turns of the Florida circuit?
“Well, we’re trying to drive the car fast!” There are times in racing where you enter a state of mind where everything comes automatically and you are able to drive the car at 99% without using your full mental capacity. You start asking about other cars, about your teammate. »
“Sometimes on the big screens you can see a direct competitor making a pit stop and choosing the hard tire, so immediately you think, ‘OK, they’re going for the hard tire, so they plan to go all the way to the end? Or are they planning to make another stop, as was predicted in our simulation?’ »
“You exchange this information with the team because maybe you have a feeling in the car that corresponds to what the others are doing – you try to understand whether or not what you had planned in the strategy meetings corresponds to the reality. It’s about making sure everything still makes sense in the moment of truth when you’re racing. »
But Fernando Alonso can also lose control… On the 48th lap of the Chinese Grand Prix last year, the Aston Martin F1 was chasing Lewis Hamilton for eighth place, but he almost sent his car into the scenery, going out slightly on the gravel at the exit of the last turn. However, he was able to avoid a fearsome spin…
“Every time you’re in a race car, you learn something. It may be more or less useful at that moment, but later you may encounter the same conditions, the same level of grip, the same level of stress, the same balance of the car. »
“In that moment of oversteer or when you have a lock in the front, your memory, a muscle memory, activates based on what you’ve already experienced and you instantly react in the necessary way. »
“It’s like your brain is a hard drive, everything you know is on that hard drive and you access it when you need it in those moments. »
“The more laps you do in a race car – the more experience you have with different cars, different circuits, different conditions – that can be an advantage. »
