Q & A with Fernando Alonso

There has been endless speculation about the reasons for his move, plus a lot of talk of trouble between himself and Renault boss (and manager) Flavio Briatore.

At the launch of Renault's 2006 challenger, however, Alonso could maintain his silence no longer and spoke at some length about the season ahead, the reasons behind the decision to turn his back on a championship-winning team and his relationship with Briatore.

There is still plenty that remains to be answered about the Alonso-McLaren deal, especially how the deal was put together, but there is at least some clarity emerging about the motivation behind the Spaniard's defection.

Q. How does this year's R26 car compare with last year's?

Alonso: There are many things very similar. Chassis-wise nothing really changed dramatically and it is quite similar to drive. The amount of power we have now feels much less, something we, the drivers, need to get used to. I'm quite happy with the package. Compared to the opponents we are in a good starting point. We need to improve the car but we have all of February to test and at the moment we are quite happy. From the drivers' point of view, nothing has really changed compared to the R25 for the Renault drivers.

Q. You have said many times that you will still be the same driver this year. Are you happy that the team will treat you in the same way and will not look more to Giancarlo Fisichella?

Alonso: No, I'm completely sure that they will help me in the way that they have helped me always, like last year, and nothing really will change in terms of helping one driver over the other driver. This is not in the plans of Renault and not something that should be done. I am 100 per cent confident in the Renault team; I am working for them in 2006. I will defend the Number 1 and they will defend the Constructors' Championship; we need to help each other and I'm sure we can do it again.

Q. Has the mood in the team changed since you made your announcement?

Alonso: Nothing. Nothing has changed; the same motivation, the same confidence in ourselves. It's quite normal; when you finish one contract, you can choose what you want. It's not that I leave Renault in a bad way or in the middle of the contract. It is something that everybody understands in the team and we are all working together this year. It's the last year for me in the team; it's the last year for Michelin in F1 at this moment. We all need and we all must leave the team or whatever in the best way possible - and this is repeating the championship.

We are confident in the package and the motivation is higher than ever this year because we have number one and number two and all the mechanics and engineers are working with much more interest than last year. This is coming to all parts of the team, not just the mechanics and the engineers. The people in the kitchen are happy, the drivers as well. Everybody is extremely motivated. Nothing will change from my side.

Q. Fernando, what would be your perfect goodbye present for Renault?

Alonso: The best farewell present for all of us would be to win the championship. For them, the same thing. We have a fantastic relationship. Renault has been my family from when I started in Formula One. I gave a lot of things to Renault and they gave me a lot of things. The respect we have for each other is fantastic and we need to do the maximum together again this year.

Q. So Fernando, why do you leave the team that brought you into F1 - the team you won the World Championship with for the team that came second?

Alonso: Well, because I think it is one of my stages in my career. I arrived with Renault in 2002 and they were nearly fighting with Minardi in 2001; we grew up together and in 2005 we reached the maximum target, which is to win both titles. And now with my contract expiring at the end of the year, I look at my options. Now I feel that this period of my career finishes here and I need to win with other teams and I need to find new motivation.

Q. Fernando, Flavio has said he was not involved in the negotiations. When did they start and did you initiate it?

Alonso: We can talk about this at other press conferences, but not here. It is not the right moment. I think it is good to clarify what we did; what is the motivation for this year and the target for this year. But all the details, I don't think is the right time.

Q. Do you think that in the future you might seek out another new challenge, maybe Ferrari?

Alonso: I don't know.

Q. Are you the kind of person that needs that new challenge all the time?

Alonso: Yes. Yes, at the end of 2009 I will see...

Q. Tyre changes and qualifying changes for this year. How do you think that will work for you?

Alonso: I don't think it will change too much how we will approach the races. For the drivers the strategy may be a little bit more complex; especially the qualifying format will be a good challenge for the technical directors and the engineers. But for the drivers it will be very similar.

Tyre changes? Maybe it doesn't help Michelin at the moment because we had a fantastic tyre last year for the whole race and we had a clear advantage compared to Bridgestone and this year maybe we can lose this advantage. But we have 100 per cent confidence in Michelin to give us the good tyre for the right distance they have to do now and nothing will change dramatically.

Q. McLaren have had problems so far. Will they be the main challengers do you think?

Alonso: I don't know. At the moment the best teams in the test sessions we did have been Honda, Renault and Ferrari. We saw that clearly last week in Barcelona. I think they are the teams that are the reference at the moment but we are only at the end of January. We have to wait. We are testing with three degrees-four degrees track conditions and the first three races will be completely different. We have to wait, but at the moment as I said these three teams are the big teams.

Q. Are you concerned that McLaren are having problems? It doesn't look good for the future...

Alonso: No, I don't think so. The new rules don't help anybody. We have to build a completely new engine - I don't know what McLaren did. Renault started in July 2005, testing the V8 on the dyno. We put the engine in the car quite late in January but the engine was completely ready after many tests on the dyno, but I have no real worries about anything.

I'm sure at the beginning of the season, the engines will be quite different to compare one team to another team and from the middle of the season to the end, I'm sure all the engines will be very similar. All the manufacturers will have a good V8.

Q. The announcement that you were joining McLaren was seen as being damaging to Renault and you appear to have been blamed for this. How do you feel about that?

Alonso: We can talk about all this, but I think not today. I do what I should do and everybody is free to do anything after you finish your relationship with another team.

Q. Has it changed your relationship with Flavio at all?

Alonso: No. Nothing at all. It is even stronger.

Q. What did Flavio say when you told him you were joining McLaren?

Alonso: Nothing. When you finish a contract with one job, you can normally choose what you want to do. It is nothing strange.

Q. But you are going to a rival team?

Alonso: We are all rivals; we are 11 teams. At the end of the day, there are three or four teams that are always at the top. And the other six teams have more difficulties. When you are with a top team, and you change, normally you go to a rival. This is what happened and there is nothing more to say.

Q. When did Flavio find out?

Alonso: That is something between Flavio and me.

Q. Will your contract run out at the last race or at the end of the year?

Alonso: We will see. We will find out next year.

Q. Is Flavio still your manager?

Alonso: Yes, for sure.

Q. What is more difficult for you. To win the title or to defend it?

Alonso: To win the title. It's always difficult to win races and it is always difficult to be competitive in this sport and I think this is the great challenge and the great opportunity for the drivers in F1. Every race is different and can change things, and anything can happen, and this is why maybe Formula One is big.

Q. Is there anything that Renault could have done to stop you from moving to McLaren?

Alonso: Probably...yes.

Q. What would that have been?

Alonso: It is between Renault and me.

Q. Was it more money?

Alonso: No, is not more money; it is more the future.

Q. What is the biggest change in you between this time last year and now?

Alonso: Nothing has changed, to be honest. I am the same driver. I had the same confidence in myself last year but I was waiting for a competitive car to prove to everybody. Maybe this year I have the same confidence, the same motivation, and I want to win again. But maybe I have less pressure this year, to be honest. Maybe last year I was a young driver with talent who needed to prove that he can win a championship, not only races. And now I am maybe more relaxed because I am maybe more confident in myself.

Q. Can you go for more wins this year, do you think?

Alonso: Yes, I was maybe more conservative because I wanted to win the championship; this year I want to win the championship but I'm not so stressed.

Q. You said that in the second half of the year all the V8s would be the same. Does that mean that the first half of the year is when you can win the championship?

Alonso: Yeah, the team that arrives ready 100 per cent for the first race can have a big advantage. With the V10, the last three or four years we saw many manufacturers come into F1 and they already have a good V10 running in the car - like Toyota, Honda, Renault and whoever. I think with the V8 it is a new challenge and it will take some months to have a competitive engine and that is the challenge for the engine men. In Renault I think they have done a fantastic job at the moment. We have no mechanical problems, which is good for testing now. We need to find some power but I am sure that we will have a good engine in the first few races and maybe this could make a difference.

Q. When you contract ends with Renault, will your management contract with Flavio also come to an end?

Alonso: No. Flavio will still be my manager.

Q. So if it wasn't money that was the issue with Renault, was it that Renault could not say that they would be in F1 in 2009.

Alonso: Who knows? (smiles)

Q. If you will not tell us what Renault would not offer you, can you tell us what Ron Dennis did?

Alonso: Nothing. I choose what I believe is the best team for my future.

Q. Fernando, you won the World Championship last year but people say McLaren had the better car and Kimi won a few awards as driver of the year. Does that make you annoyed you at all?

Alonso: No, no; the opposite. I like it when people say that because it means my title or my victories were even more painful for the people.....

Q. Fernando you have done so much in your career. Do you feel like an old man now?

Alonso: No, no, not really! I started very young in go kart and then I had the steps into F1 very quick and I was 19 when I arrived in Minardi and now at 24 I have won the title. So I am not old but I achieve many things in a very short space of time. This is a good thing and I believe this helps me for my career and my achievements in the future. I'm really looking forward to being even older than now and to have achieved more at the top.

Q. Talking about age. What about the old man, Michael Schumacher? Will he still be a force if Ferrari get a competitive package?

Alonso: Yes, for sure; no doubts about this. If Ferrari is showing us their potential in this winter test arriving in Bahrain, for me the first name that I will see on the list of times will be Michael's, for sure. He will probably be the favourite one.