Alonso: Huge motivation in front of my people
18 May, 2011
Fernando Alonso surrounded by fans in the Barcelona paddock last year
May 18 (PVM) Fernando Alonso is a living legend in Spain and every year his fan base grows in his home country and Alonso-fever will be in clear evidence at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona and while most would feel pressured by the expectations, Alonso instead relishes the prospect.
Fernando scored his first podium in Turkey last time out
“It is a unique feeling here in Barcelona for my home grand prix,” says Alonso. “There is a huge motivation for me to do well in front of my people but also there is some extra pressure as everyone is expecting a lot from you, and you have to deliver but it is a nice pressure to have.”
The double Formula 1 World champion can take the credit for single-handed creating interest in a sport that was virtually ignored by his fellow countrymen, who preferred their MotoGP stars. Those days are long gone, the stands will be full to capacity, Spanish flags will fly in abundance and Ferrari caps will be sold on mass thanks to Alonso.
Fernando fever is big in Spain
Formula 1 have already tested twice at the venue earlier this year and for the race weekend, the Spaniard acknowledges, “All the drivers know the circuit very well and as far as set-up is concerned you more or less have a baseline from all the testing data.”
But points out, “However, there is a big difference in that the ambient and track temperatures were very cold when we were here in February and now in May, it should be much warmer. This means there are little tweaks you can do to the car and set-up adjustments to deal with this change in temperature.”
“As it is a track that all teams and drivers know very well, it will be a very good reference point for the championship,” concludes Alonso.
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