Q & A with Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso: Well, I think like all the 2009 cars is a little bit strange to watch. Because the rear and front wings are a little bit strange. But I'm happy. I like the car. Obviously it doesn't matter if it looks nice or not.

The only important thing if it's quick or not and this we will find out in three or four weeks. At the moment I'm happy with the car, with the work of the team and we are all optimistic so far.

Q. Are you happier than you were at this point last year?

FA: Yeah, definitely. Much more happy this year and much more optimistic, because I think the rule changes are a big opportunity for all the teams if we do a good job to fight for the championship. Last year even with the standard electronics, with no traction control and all these things we knew already that the cars that fought for the title in 2007 were good enough to fight for the championship in 2008, because they had an advantage that they carried over the years.

This year is not like that anymore. Everybody is starting from zero and if we do a good job we can be up with them. This is what we hope at the moment and that is our aim.

Q. Are you confident that you can be among the drivers fighting for the title this year?

FA: Yes. At the moment I think Flavio and me, the whole team is really optimistic, and I think there is only one target for this 2009 championship, which is winning the drivers' championship and winning the Constructors' Championship. Both championships are the target.

Everybody is focused on this and all the results that we have from the wind tunnel, the engine dyno, everything is more optimistic that we expected. The results are better than we predicted so everybody is quite motivated. But you never know. You need a few factors to be champion at the end of the year, but hopefully I think for the first race we will be able to fight for the podium at least.

Q. Considering the new rules, is it a concern that a team finds a big advantage over the rest?

FA: It's a concern for everybody. I'm sure every launch of every car has been looked at with much more detailed that any other year. Every time we see a new car we try to look and see if they have something completely different or another philosophy or understanding of the 2009 rules.

But so far I think we haven't seen anything special and I'm sure you agree with this. None of the cars have anything that the others don't have, so maybe it can be a good championship. It's really open and there's the possibility that more than two teams will be winning races.

Q. How far did you negotiations with Honda go and how surprised were you about their exit?

FA: I was surprised. Negotiations were not too intense because I was in a really good moment with Renault when I spoke with them. And I was convinced 99.9 percent that I would stay at Renault. And I was surprised when Honda said bye bye. You can expect that from a small team, maybe Force India or Toro Rosso, but not a big manufacturer like Honda.

It was a surprise and sad news, because Honda has been in F1 for many years. But to be honest after Honda left the teams agreed many more things in one month than in the past three or four years. They are very concerned now about the costs and F1 seems more united so it's good.

Q. Following the rule changes, how much more difficult do you think it will be for Lewis Hamilton to retain his title than when you won your back-to-back championships?

FA: As I said before, maybe it's more difficult because all the cars are mixed as we start all from zero. And if you carry the same regulations for two or three years the cars that win championships... it's difficult that they lose their advantage, as they keep this advantage maybe for years. So it's easier to win back-to-back championships when the regulations stay the same.

But if a team discovers something different maybe the can win three or four races in a row and the championship becomes much easier after that. If that is the case with McLaren it can be easier for Lewis, because he can have an advantage in one part of the season. So you never know. I think we need to wait and see.

Q. Do you think he has less or more pressure as world champion?

FA: I think less. To be honest when you win the championship you will be Formula One world champion forever and you can enjoy racing more. You can make a mistake in one race and you know the championship is very long. When you are waiting for your first championship there is a little bit more stress as well, because you don't want to lose the opportunity. Once you have the championship I think there is less pressure.

Q. Renault have been allowed to make changes to their engines. Are you optimistic that has helped the team?

FA: I hope so. We have been able to unfreeze the engine a little bit. But I really don't know, because with the 18,000 rpm limit this year maybe the power of the engines change again, and we need to find where we are now. Because we knew last year we were down on power. This year at the moment we don't know. Hopefully we are at the same level of everybody and hopefully better.

Q. How concerned are you about the dangers of KERS?

FA: I know there is a possible danger there. I'm not a great fan of KERS so far because all the teams had problems with it. I know it's quite expensive and with the economical situation we have now maybe it was not the perfect season to introduce KERS. But nevertheless we need to develop a system that is safe enough for mechanics and drivers, that is good enough to finish the race with no problems.

We cannot have any retirements from KERS, otherwise it will be a drama. And we have to develop this system in the five tests we have now in the winter. Because after that it's done. There's no testing anymore during the season, so it's not an easy job.

Q. Do you think you have an advantage over your teammate because of the lack of testing?

FA: I don't think it changes too much for any driver or for any team. The only thing that will change compared to previous seasons is the winter testing. Now if you don't have everything under control in the final tests of the winter there's no time anymore to do anything.

If KERS is still not working in the last test it's better if you remove KERS and don't race with it. You can't arrive on Friday in Malaysia or Bahrain and think of a new solution for KERS. It's too late. That's the only change I see in terms of testing regulations.

Q. What are your feeling about Ron Dennis stepping down as team principal of McLaren?

FA: Well, again, I think we are not best friends, but I think there is respect from each other. We didn't have a perfect end to our relationship but we know how much he has done for Formula One. When I was young I remember McLaren and I had great respect for him.

There are not many people like Ron in Formula One anymore. Ron did it like in the old days: one guy developing and growing up with the team, making a Formula One team successful and winning championships. I hope him the best for his new life.

Q. There have been speculation about your future with Ferrari. Do you see your long-term F1 future away from Renault?

FA: I have been answering this question for four or five years. Hopefully this year I can be more relaxed about this question and if we are winning races and fighting for the championship we'll forget Ferrari.

That's my aim, because I'm really concentrated in 2009 and more motivated and more prepared than ever. With all these changes I'm really looking forward to sitting in the car. And when we talk about 2010, or 11 or 12 is really a difficult question to answer. I'm not looking that far away.

Q. So what is the target for 2009?

FA: One target: we need the championship. If we don't need the championship it will be a disappointing season. Obviously if after three or four races you are nowhere then you have to change your targets, but now in January you have to be really, really optimistic and we are now.

Q. Why didn't you drive today?

FA: The team asked which days I wanted to drive and I said day three and day four because normally the first two days the car has a lot of problems. But it was not the case today. The car was fine and maybe I'll have the problems in day three and four, but hopefully not. But I'm happy because Wednesday should be dry and hopefully I can do some laps in the dry.