Q & A with Fernando Alonso

Q: How is the pre-season going?

Alonso: "It's going well. The car is already giving good results and we're happy with it. So far the pre-season is going very well and if the championship would start tomorrow, Renault would be the favourites. But there's still one month to go and our rivals can catch up. We've got up to speed quicker than them."

Q: Will you get nervous before the start of the season?

Alonso: "Normally, no. I'm usually quite cool. Maybe this year that will change because starting the season with the number one on the car will be more exciting."

Q: What's wrong with McLaren? As soon as you signed they started going slow...

Alonso: "Well, they're not going very quick at the moment, but I suppose they'll get better. In a few months they'll be winning races again. And let's hope that next year they'll have recovered their edge again..."

Q: Is Ferrari getting better?

Alonso: "I think this year things will be much closer at the top. Everything is open and the championship will be a lot of fun. We'll have more teams fighting for Grand Prix victories. Unfortunately for me it won't be like in 2005, when only McLaren and Renault were up there, race in, race out."

Q: Honda are going well too. Is it true they have the best engine in the field?

Alonso: "Yes, they're quick in every track, and in the paddock everyone thinks they have the most powerful engine around. We're going pretty quick, but in terms of horse power we have Honda and Ferrari ahead of us. It's one of the areas in which we need to improve."

Q: Do you see yourself as the favourite for the season?

Alonso: "I don't think I'm the only favourite, but just one of them. Both Honda drivers, both Ferrari drivers, and both Renault drivers are among the favourites for the first three or four races of the season."

Q: Did you see [Valentino] Rossi in Valencia?

Alonso: "Outside the car I didn't see him, but we tested together and I saw him from car to car. But I had my job to do there and did a lot of laps, so I didn't see him."

Q: Do you think he can win in F1?

Alonso: "Sincerely... no, I don't think so. Last week he did his first test with other drivers but his engine was quite different from ours. It's like if I would try motorbikes. I could take part, have fun, but I could never beat [Dani] Pedrosa. I couldn't beat people that started in mini-bikes when they were three..."

Q: Will [Michael] Schumacher be a threat?

Alonso: "He's very motivated. He's always motivated. I suppose that after losing the title last year he'll come back for revenge stronger than ever."

Q: How's the relationship with Renault, after the announcement you're moving to McLaren? And in your first test of the season you showed up in a Mercedes road car, didn't you???

Alonso: "It was not my fault, it was what the car rental company gave me to drive. Every time I get different cars and it just happened it was a Mercedes last week. But the relationship with the team is good and everyone is highly motivated.

"There is a good ambiance in the team and everyone is happy we're racing with numbers one and two on the cars. The ambiance is better than ever, even though it was announced I'm moving to McLaren at the end of the year."

Q: How is the relationship with Flavio Briatore?

Alonso: "Good, good."

Q: Are you sure he didn't know you were moving to McLaren?

Alonso: "No, he didn't."

Q: What did he say when you announced the deal to him?

Alonso: "Initially he was quite surprised, because Renault wanted to renew my contract. But he understood, in the end, and now our relationship is stronger than ever. He didn't get angry with my dad or my manager either."

Q: Will you get full support from Renault this year?

Alonso: "If, with four or five races to go, I'm out of contention for the title and I have a bad season, it's normal they stop giving me information and developments because they will not want me to take that information to McLaren.

"But if things go in a normal way and we're fighting, [Giancarlo] Fisichella and myself, for victories and the title, it won't cross anyone's mind to delay me or hinder my chances in any way. I'm not worried at all about that."

Q: Why was the McLaren announcement made so early?

Alonso: "For me it didn't mater when it was announced, but something like that would be difficult to keep secret.. Some companies knew what was going on, like Mercedes and the sponsors, and it was just a mater of time before the press would find out.

"And there were four or five teams interested in me, so it wouldn't have been good for me to keep it a secret. There would be a lot of rumours and it would have been difficult for me to concentrate on the championship."

Q: What convinced you to move to McLaren?

Alonso: "They've been winning races for 20 years. Every season they're up there. They have the best technology in F1, and all the drivers know that. For my future, it was the best option."

Q: Do you have any preference about your future teammate?

Alonso: "I don't care who my teammate will be. I suppose they'll keep one of their current drivers."

Q: Would you like to have [Pedro] de la Rosa as a teammate?

Alonso: "It's the same, but we could communicate well in Spanish..."

Q: Can you see yourself as Kimo Raikkonen's teammate?

Alonso: "For now, the team he's racing for has signed me for 2007. That makes me doubly proud. If he wants to stay there, fine. But if he moves out and it's Juan Pablo Montoya that remains, that's fine with me too."

Q: Has your life changed, now that you're a world champion?

Alonso: "Nothing changed. Everything remains as it was before."