Q & A with Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso: No. I don't think so. There were some races where we were not quick enough and we were not performing well - like Monaco and Canada. I overdrove the car to get the podium possibility, and I risked maybe too much and made mistakes.

There were some decisions last year where I made no mistakes in the whole season, so overall we cannot be happy with this championship. Okay we won two races with a less competitive car than I had in the last four or five years, so it is a great achievement. But one was affected by the luck, in Singapore, and the other one we were quick enough. I am happy but it was not the best season in my career.

Q. Some of your team members say you pushed them along well this year, that your presence back at Renault had been a very positive influence..

FA: Well, I hope so. I think when I joined the team last winter they were maybe a little bit down, because 2007 was not good enough. In 2008 we started more or less how we finished 2007, so they were not in the right direction. But I think we understood the problems.

Then to make the new parts and develop the car it takes some months, as you need to design the new parts of the car, and you need to build them. When we introduced the new car around Spa the car was better and better, so it took a little bit longer - but finally we are in the right direction now.

Q. So it bodes well for next season. Do you think you can get Renault back to the top, providing you stay?

FA: We will see...

Q. Speaking of next year, are you looking forward to slicks and low downforce?

FA: Yes, I am looking forward to next year - not just because the rules have changed. Because 2008 I had not the possibility to fight for the title, and I am looking forward in 2009 to come back to the position to fight for the championship. I think maybe the new regulations will help the overtaking in F1, and make the races a little bit more spectacular. So I am hopeful that this will be the result of the new rules and next year the races will be more interesting.

Q. The Chinese Grand Prix was very strong for you, as you managed to keep one of the McLarens behind you in the early stages. Do you feel you can do that again this weekend?

FA: I don't know. In China I think everything was a little bit strange. In P3 we were very bad and in qualifying we were good. Then in the race we kept the good car and I was able to have (Heikki) Kovalainen behind me and finish very close to the Ferraris - so it was a little bit better than expected. So if we can here repeat the performance of China it will be fantastic, but we will see. The characteristics of the track here are maybe not so good for us, with a very long straight uphill. We have to see if we have the power here to match the top speed of the other people.

Q. You said about the new parts that came at Spa. How much of an input did you have with these new parts?

FA: Not much, because my role is to tell the team what is the problem with the car - what area we are losing more lap time. So when I stop, when I speak with the engineers and we have the meetings in Enstone, we try to have some priority to the parts of the car where we think we are wrong. That was only my role - try to identify the problems when I am driving. Then the team was good enough to put all their efforts in the R28 to bring some parts every race to the car, to improve the areas where we thought we were weak. The team was the key point because they never gave up with this car. They thought that sooner or later we would find the solution, and we finally have a good car at the end again.

Q. Would you say Interlagos is one of your favourite circuits, as you won the title twice this year?

FA: Yes, I think so. It is not only the circuit. I like the atmosphere, and when I arrived yesterday in the airport I had great memories going to the hotel. Every time I came here it was a very good feeling: 2005 with the championship and 2006. And last year I had some good feelings as well.

Q. When can we expect some news about your future. Will it be this weekend?

FA: I think next week.

Q. Interlagos has one of the trickiest first corners, as it is very easy to get into trouble here at the start. Can you tell us the mindset when you approach the first corner with all the cars around you?

FA: Well it is a tricky corner, but to be honest in the past we never had huge problems here. I prefer this type of car than those like Bahrain, which are 180-degree corners. Those turns are more a problem for us. I think this one, the biggest problem is that the start is uphill so you need to start with the brakes on. And this is for us a new thing. Then you arrive to the first corner and there are many lines. You can go very wide, you can go on the inside or you can go completely in the middle and you don't lose too much - as you can take the advantage for Turn 2. That is the only characteristic of Turn 1. There are many possibilities in terms of Turn 1 and many racing lines.

Q. You said prior to the Chinese Grand Prix that you would rather see anybody other than Lewis win the world championship. There has been a bit of time since, do you feel any different now? Why are things so personal with him?

FA: No, they are not with him. I told many times that I have great respect to Lewis and we speak together. Last year was the same thing. We were in the drivers' room, we speak together and we had no problems. But I think I will always prefer any team other than McLaren to win.

Q. From a racing point of view, how do you analyse the chance of the two title contenders?

FA: Lewis is the clear favourite. He is seven points ahead and here, if he finishes the race, it will be enough to win the championship. In the top five (is easy because) he is quick enough to win the championship. So Lewis is going to win.

Q. Will the championship be tainted if Lewis or Felipe was involved in an accident?

FA: I think nothing will happen, or hopefully nothing will happen. I don't see any possibility of someone crashing with Felipe or crashing with Lewis. The race will be very, very clean, I hope. And theoretically they will finish both in the podium - this is a normal situation and a normal race.