Q & A with Fernando Alonso

Afterwards AUTOSPORT heard from the Spaniard as he discussed his day with the gathered media.

Q. Fernando, first day, first test, how did it go and what's the first impression of the car?

Fernando Alonso: It was okay. It was an important day for me, first time in a Ferrari. A very emotional day this morning and also last night. I think I maximised the day in terms of laps and time on the track and I feel good. [In] the car I have many things to adjust, the seat, the pedals, the steering wheel, the helmet, which is a new brand for me.

I've never run with Brembo brakes, so that was a first for me as well. Many things to adapt, many things to check, but I had a good base in the car thanks to Felipe's job during the first two days. I think it was a really, really big help for me because I didn't lose time with the set-up or the car. I just concentrated on my comfort in the car because Felipe's set-up was good enough to keep running in the morning.

Q. Almost 40,000 people here. How does that feel?

FA: It feels good, great. It's not a holiday today, it's not a weekend, it's a normal day of the week and people came here to support the team, to support me, to enjoy Formula 1. As I've said before, this is new in Spain, from the last five or six years. So I'm very proud of the support of the fans and I hope they enjoyed the day and that they keep supporting as they are because it's nice from a driver's point of view being here, the 3rd of February in Valencia, eight hours driving, 113 laps...

Q. Have you had time to feel the special atmosphere around Ferrari?

FA: Yeah, I had time from day one at Ferrari. As I repeat many times, it's unbelievable the feeling here, the atmosphere, the passion of everybody. It's very nice to be in the garage, to speak Italian with all the mechanics. We have a kind of sense of humour very similar to Spain so I felt very, very good so far. I keep enjoying life.

Q. How is the transition compared to McLaren?

FA: Well, it was more or less similar in the motivation as you arrive to the team. You want to do well. You arrive at the big team. But to be honest we don't have the same culture or the same character so it was a little bit colder there. But they were very, very professional as well. So in a way, as far as the car is quick, you feel comfortable. But here there's this little more, at least for me, that makes Ferrari very special.

Q. Did you enjoy sharing the track with other world champions like Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button today?

FA: Yeah, it was a good coincidence, and with Lewis [Hamilton] we will be four this year. It will be a very interesting championship for the fans and for us as well, because there are these combinations of McLaren with two Britons, Mercedes with two Germans, Ferrari with two Latins, which makes also some kind of something more for the fans.

Q. The expectations are high now in Spain.

FA: Yes, the expectations are always high and as I said this year for sure being with Ferrari people will expect a lot from us, but there is nothing we can do apart from doing our maximum, try to be competitive, professional and try to be quick. If we can do this, I think people will be happy. If we don't manage to win unfortunately it will not be because we weren't trying 100 per cent. It will be because somebody else did a better job.

Q. A lot of people believe Ferrari leaves this test as the team to beat. Would you agree with that?

FA: No, I don't think so. It's just the first day and as I said now at least for me the priority was getting completely comfortable. There are many things to discover for me, many things to learn.

I think maybe if we topped the times the three days it's related to fuel load or whatever, or maybe because it's true we are competitive. But before being competitive we need to make sure we do a lot of laps and that the car is strong and can finish all the grands prix. We are at that period of winter testing. We need to make the car very, very strong and until Barcelona or the last test at Jerez I think we will not look for the performance.

Q. But your first feeling is a good one for you?

FA: The first impression is always good. It was very good last year, and I was not in Q3 very often. For that I'm very, very cautious. It was a good first day, but also because I found the car very easy to drive because Felipe was running for two days and I've been taking this information from him which was a help. If you run day one and day two maybe it was more difficult for me.