Fernando Alonso: "The new fans don't know much about F-1, they only care about the results"

MADRID, 21 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (Alpine) believes that his sport has changed a lot and that "there are new fans who in their own way don't know much about Formula 1 and are more like football fans" because they only care about "the results", and admitted that he would like to be remembered when he retires as "someone who doesn't give up easily".

"Now I think that the fans we have are new fans who, in their own way, and I don't want to disrespect them, don't know much about Formula 1. They are more like football fans, they only care about the results. The one who wins, He is the best and the one who is last has no level for Formula 1," Alonso said in an interview with The Race published this Thursday.

The Asturian explained that "when you have a good week, you are like a God", but on the other hand "when you have a bad week, you are too old, or young, or whatever". "There is no real Formula 1 culture anymore," he added.

For the two-time world champion, "now the fans only watch the races live, they provoke emotions, and then they disconnect until next Sunday". "They don't understand about the performance of the car and the package that you need. Now you are more on a roller coaster of emotions and perceptions, of what people feel towards you," he said.

Alonso places great importance on proving to these new fans his ability to be world champion. "Let's say there's a new generation of fans that wasn't there in 2006, when I won the World Championship, or in 2012, when I was at Ferrari fighting for the championship," he said.

In this sense, the Alpine pilot believes that "in 2007, perhaps there was a perception" about how he was "as a pilot and as a person". "That changed when I went to Ferrari, I fit in well with a Latin team," he said.

"Now there are 50 per cent of new viewers who have never seen Alonso fight for podiums and wins. And now you come back and think 'who is this guy?' and 'what does he contribute to this sport?'. Weeks like the one in Canada or the second part of last year I think they can make them feel that I still have something to contribute", stressed the man from Oviedo.

Fernando Alonso will celebrate his birthday at the end of July, coinciding with one of the next Grand Prix. "I will be 41 years old in Hungary, that will be the main topic of the weekend. I will not feel any different in Hungary than I felt last year at 39, but I am aware of it," he said.

For the two-time world champion, people do not look at the pilots the same over time. "You are aware of things and people's opinions. You have to do hundreds of interviews and in all of them they ask you how you feel at 40 years old and if you are exactly the same as before," says Alonso.

However, he confirms that "it is important" to him that "people realize" that he "loves competition and sports." "Even if I feel like I'm the same, I have to prove it every little bit, and weeks like Canada help bring that feeling into the paddock," he added.

"I know there are several examples of people in the past coming back after retiring, like Kimi (Raikkonen) or Michael (Schumacher), who weren't the same as they were before, and I didn't want that on my return," Alonso said. "I think I'm more or less achieving it. I'm the same as I was before, and that was very important to me," he completed.

The Spaniard confessed that for him "it meant a lot because when you decide to return, you have to get away from other things in your life, such as family or friends, and have complete dedication to the work you do, travel, the physical and mental aspect." "All that and the pressure you put on your shoulders," he said.

"You are Fernando Alonso, everyone is going to look at you and see if you are doing well," remarked the Alpine driver. "That doesn't make me angry, of course. I feel fast, if it wasn't, I wouldn't have come back," he reiterated.

In addition, Fernando Alonso acknowledged that in the first part of last season it was difficult for him "to find the rhythm again in Formula 1, the pit stops, the starts, the rebounds and the changes in handling" of the single-seater. "This year and the second part of the past, I feel much more normal," he declared.

Now, when he decides to retire, he wants to be remembered as "a fighter." "Someone who doesn't give up easily. Who always wants to give his best in every free practice, qualifying or race, regardless of the condition or the position he fights for. It doesn't matter if it's victory or twelfth," he said. .