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more at hyundaiusa.com or call 562-314-4603.

1:07

This episode is brought to you by

1:09

Salesforce, a global partner of Formula One.

1:12

With Salesforce, the number one

1:14

AICRM, Formula One is transforming

1:17

the fan experience. He

1:25

is, without doubt, a Formula

1:27

One legend. Two

1:29

World Championships, multiple race wins

1:31

with Renault, McLaren and Ferrari,

1:33

and podiums aplenty with Aston

1:35

Martin. As he becomes

1:37

the first driver in F1 history

1:40

to compete in 400 Grand Prix,

1:42

Fernando Alonso is looking back

1:45

to a time he thought his career

1:47

was reaching its end. When

1:50

I won the championship in 2006 and then I

1:52

joined McLaren, I had a three-year contract, and I

1:54

was 99% sure that 2009 would be my last

2:00

Formula One season. I've

2:02

already fulfilled my dream. You know, I won

2:05

the championship two times. You know, this is

2:07

beyond my wildest imagination, you know, to be

2:09

a Formula One champion. So I was thinking,

2:12

you know, I will have my family.

2:14

I will do normal things, normal days. But

2:17

Fernando's still going strong today.

2:20

And with legendary designer Adrian Nuit

2:23

joining Aston Martin, will the Spaniard

2:25

now prolong his career? I

2:28

will lie if I tell you that I didn't

2:30

think about it. Because

2:32

we enter in this personal adventure

2:35

of working with a talent like

2:37

Adrian. I want to experience that behind

2:39

the wheel, yes. But I'm not

2:41

too scared of working

2:44

alongside and seeing Aston

2:46

winning, even if I'm not behind the

2:48

wheel. If we win eventually, when

2:50

I'm not driving, I will enjoy it a little bit

2:53

as well. Hello

2:59

and welcome to F1 Beyond the

3:01

Grid with me, Tom Clarkson. 23

3:05

years on from his Formula One

3:07

debut, Fernando Alonso will compete in

3:09

his 400th Grand Prix in Mexico

3:11

City, further extending his record

3:14

as the most experienced driver in

3:16

the sports history. So

3:18

how did he reach this monumental

3:20

milestone and what's next? Fernando

3:23

shares fascinating insights into his career on

3:25

track, as well as the fork in

3:27

the road moments off it that could

3:29

have taken him down very different routes.

3:32

He explains how his first race

3:34

win changed his life, why he

3:36

turned down Red Bull after secret

3:38

meetings with the team and what

3:40

life was really like during his

3:42

time at Ferrari. I also asked

3:44

Fernando what he thinks has been

3:46

his best race since coming back

3:48

to Formula One in 2021, and

3:50

the answer may well surprise you.

3:52

Plus, he discusses the impact that

3:54

Adrian Nui will have on Aston

3:56

Martin, when that influence will be

3:58

felt and how Nui's arrival. will

4:00

affect his future, and you'll hear

4:02

why he can't bear the thought

4:04

of losing at anything. Fernando's

4:07

on fantastic form, incredibly open, and

4:09

tells some gripping stories from his

4:12

incredible career. I hope you enjoy

4:14

our conversation. Fernando,

4:21

how are you? Very good, how are you? I'm

4:23

great, and I feel that now

4:25

is a great time to have you on

4:27

the podcast, because there's so much to discuss

4:29

about the future, but can

4:32

we start by being a bit reflective about

4:34

the big number that's happening

4:36

in Mexico, 400 races? I mean, that's

4:38

insane. It

4:42

is, it is, I think 400,

4:44

even though I think now the

4:46

calendar is a little bit longer,

4:48

and you accumulate 24 every year,

4:50

not like in the past, but

4:53

yeah, taking account that I've been

4:55

two years out, 2019 and 2020,

4:59

you know, to reach 400 now

5:01

is a big number, and you

5:03

know, it's a way of demonstrating my

5:05

passion for the sport and for Formula

5:08

One. How proud are you of that

5:10

number? Not

5:12

proud, I mean, it doesn't mean too much for

5:14

me right now, because you are racing and you

5:17

are focused on the next weekend, but knowing

5:19

that no one reached that number

5:22

in the past, and maybe

5:24

someone does in the future, but not

5:26

many, let's say, a group of

5:28

five or ten maximum. As

5:31

I said, you know, it just demonstrates

5:33

my love for racing for

5:35

Formula One, you know, how much I enjoy this

5:38

lifestyle as well, motor racing in

5:40

general, and yeah, even if

5:43

traveling is demanding, racing

5:45

is just paying off all the

5:48

sacrifices. What would the 19-year-old Fernando

5:50

Alonso, the guy that lined up

5:52

in Melbourne, 2001,

5:54

in that minority, what would he

5:56

make of this moment? 2001,

6:02

I was not really thinking too much in the

6:04

future. I was a driver

6:06

that, you know, the dream was

6:08

coming alive, driving for Formula One,

6:10

the first race. And I

6:13

would say that I was, I didn't have

6:15

a clear roadmap into my career. You know,

6:17

I didn't know exactly what was the

6:19

next race, what will be my next team.

6:21

You know, I was just very, I

6:24

was in provides, you know, every weekend was a

6:26

new adventure. What I would say that

6:29

when I won the championship in 2006,

6:32

and then I joined McLaren, I

6:34

had a three years contract, 2007, eight and nine. And

6:38

I was 99% sure that 2009 will be my last Formula

6:40

One season.

6:44

That was my plan, very clear

6:46

plan in my head. You know, I won

6:48

the championship in 2005, won the

6:50

championship in six, joined McLaren for

6:52

three years. And that was my last

6:55

contract in my head. Why?

6:58

Also, what were you going to do? I don't

7:00

know. Maybe I had, maybe it was not reason

7:02

for it, but when I signed that

7:04

contract and it was also a three years contract. So

7:07

in my head at that time, it was like a

7:09

long-term contract and okay, three years

7:11

we'll feel maybe long, but you know, this is

7:13

the last anyway, you know, I've

7:15

already fulfilled my dream. You know, I won

7:17

the championship two times, you know, this is

7:19

beyond my wildest imagination, you

7:21

know, to be a Formula One champion.

7:24

So what else can I do

7:26

here? So I signed this contract with McLaren,

7:28

hope to win more championships, hope to win

7:30

more races, but after Formula One, there

7:32

are a different life outside,

7:34

you know, and even not so

7:36

much about motor racing. I

7:38

was thinking, you know, I will have my

7:41

family, I will do normal things, normal days.

7:43

So referring to your question, I don't think that

7:46

the 19 year old, Minardi,

7:48

2001 Fernando, will think

7:51

something strange about the 400 Grand Prix, because

7:53

I was not thinking too much in the future,

7:55

but at 2007, for sure

7:57

this would be a surprise. It seems

8:00

then. that your relationship with Formula One

8:02

has evolved as you've gone along. And

8:04

at what point did you

8:07

start thinking long-term? It did

8:09

evolve, yes. I learned things,

8:11

I accepted things, which

8:13

I did in some points in my career.

8:15

I have a sense of justice and a

8:17

sense of fairness that you

8:20

have to disconnect if

8:22

you are in Formula One. There

8:24

are no fairness here, there are no justice

8:27

sometimes. And you have to just deal with

8:29

the unique things in this sport. There

8:31

are a lot of politics, there are a lot of

8:33

interest, there are some decisions

8:35

that maybe are not so much in

8:37

the sportive side, it has some different

8:40

background on those and you have to accept it

8:42

if you want. If you would like to be

8:45

part of the circus, you have to accept certain

8:47

things. If not, you find another category, which is

8:49

exactly what I did in 2018. I

8:52

was not happy with myself, I was not enjoying

8:55

Formula One at that moment,

8:58

not only on track, also

9:00

off track, the domination of Mercedes, it

9:02

was just, I don't

9:04

know, I felt, okay, this is time. And I still

9:07

love motorsport, I still love driving

9:10

cars. So let's try the Indy

9:12

500, the Le Mans, all these kinds of things. And

9:15

then I came back to F1, enjoying

9:18

more F1, not because F1 did change

9:20

too much, it's because again,

9:22

I accepted things that Formula One

9:25

has and you take it

9:27

or you leave it. So it was that two

9:29

year break when you learned to accept Formula One

9:31

for what it is? Yes, yeah,

9:33

I would say. Wasn't earlier than that. Earlier

9:36

I had few years that

9:38

I was enjoying Formula One just

9:42

because the team was giving me that enjoyment

9:45

and that satisfaction of being a Formula

9:47

One driver. The years at Ferrari, I

9:49

did enjoy, you know, despite the results,

9:51

I was fighting for championships, I won

9:54

a few races, I was

9:56

enjoying Italy, the Tefossi, being

9:59

a Ferrari. drivers so those years were

10:01

a happy place for me. Then

10:04

I joined McLaren, it was the Honda era.

10:07

We had problems, you know, performance, we

10:09

had problems with the power

10:11

unit, all the things we know, but

10:13

I was enjoying because my love

10:16

for Japan, the connection of

10:19

McLaren, Honda, which was a little bit

10:21

the inspiration that my father had to

10:23

build my first go car, that it was a

10:26

replica of the Cena Prost Formula

10:28

One at that time. So I

10:30

was enjoying that time and then 2017,

10:32

2018, I was just not

10:35

enjoying so much and I decided to stop. I

10:38

did want to ask you about that

10:40

second stint at McLaren and the relationship

10:42

with Ron Dennis because, you know, as

10:45

you said, it was a three-year deal at McLaren first

10:47

time around, came to an end after one year. How

10:50

was it getting back into bed, with

10:53

Ron? It was okay. Initially,

10:55

when I left Ferrari

10:57

and joined McLaren, Ron was not

11:00

part of the organization. I was

11:03

dealing always with Martin and with

11:05

Honda, dearly. So, you know, Ron

11:07

was not there. I arrived

11:09

like two months before the

11:12

season started, or in November, before 2015.

11:14

So, November

11:16

2014. So, yeah, I was a little

11:18

bit curious.

11:22

I was a little bit scared, you know,

11:24

of how the relationship will be the

11:26

first time that I meet Ron, that now he joined the

11:28

team two months after I

11:30

signed, that I will join the team, you know.

11:32

So I didn't know that when I signed for

11:35

McLaren, but no, he was very open.

11:37

We had a conversation the first time,

11:39

you know, a little bit, not

11:42

laughing, but, you know, taking it a bit

11:44

out of, you know,

11:46

the stress of the previous relationship.

11:49

And Ron, in a way, he's a

11:52

competitor and he's a man that doesn't

11:55

want to lose, you know, and he will do anything

11:57

to win a race. So... In

12:00

a way, I was

12:03

happy to have that

12:05

drawn and that determination for

12:07

the McLaren and Honda project. Then,

12:09

obviously, he had other businesses

12:12

inside and he had other things, not

12:14

only the supportive side, and I

12:17

think it didn't work well for any of

12:19

us. This

12:22

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for more details. Fernando

14:01

Alonso wins his first Grand

14:03

Prix and he becomes the

14:05

youngest man ever to win

14:07

a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

14:10

And what a remarkable weekend

14:12

for the young Spaniards. If

14:20

we were to talk about the key moments

14:23

in your career so far, what would they

14:25

be? I

14:27

think it will be my first race

14:30

win, 2003. This

14:32

was probably the biggest

14:35

change for me personally, in terms

14:38

of being

14:40

recognized in the streets, being a

14:43

kind of celebrity in Spain. And this

14:45

was a big change because when I won the championship, that

14:47

was just a continuation of that

14:50

2003 first victory. So

14:53

I would say 2003 win was

14:55

a key part of my life

14:57

and my career. Obviously the two

14:59

championships, Ferrari time, those

15:02

years, and then the

15:04

Le Mans and Weg

15:06

Championship. Those are the key moments of my

15:08

career. Talking of first wins, Bahrain

15:10

2010, your first race with Ferrari, it's a

15:13

1-2 with you and Felipe, I mean, the

15:15

dream start. You must have

15:17

been pinching yourself. Yeah, it was unbelievable because

15:20

the winter testing and the launch

15:23

of the car and everything felt

15:25

so different being in a Ferrari

15:27

car. We went in

15:29

the Madona di Campilio, we went on

15:31

the ski resort and everything was like,

15:34

wow, this is another dimension, being a

15:36

Ferrari driver. So I would love to

15:38

be competitive because the last thing I

15:40

find was not so competitive for Ferrari

15:42

and it was Braun GP and Red

15:45

Bull dominating. So it's not

15:47

that I didn't trust what was the

15:49

performance of the Ferrari 2010, but there

15:52

were a lot of question marks on

15:54

our performance. And I was just enjoying

15:56

so much the Ferrari style of doing

15:58

things. that I was so scared about

16:00

the performance in the first couple of

16:02

races. If that was in a different

16:04

level, you know, your life is here,

16:06

your results are here. But

16:08

then when we came to the first race and we

16:10

qualified, I think second and third, I said,

16:12

OK, you know, I will be I will love to be

16:15

in the podium today. Then when

16:17

Sebastian had the engine problem, a few

16:19

laps to the end. And I over to him. Definitely,

16:21

I was I was not expecting to win the first race.

16:24

And it was a moment that my

16:26

life was here being a Ferrari driver

16:29

and everything that it means outside the

16:31

car, but also winning the first

16:33

race. So it was it was a hundred

16:35

of happiness. Are you someone who has a

16:37

feel for the history of the sport? So

16:40

when you're at Ferrari and you're walking through the

16:42

corridors there and all the photographs

16:44

of Lauda and everyone there, do you

16:47

feel that? Not so much.

16:50

If I'm honest, I

16:52

mean, I'm aware of things and I'm I'm

16:55

curious to know the history of the teams

16:57

and the brands. And things like

16:59

that. But it doesn't mean

17:02

for me too much in the way

17:04

that I need the result tomorrow. So

17:07

whatever happened, that's good. I'm happy for them.

17:09

I'm happy for the brand, the history, everything.

17:12

But it's the same with the circuits. When

17:14

we go to a new circuit, I'm enjoying.

17:17

It's a new facilities. It's a new type

17:19

of corners. It's a new asphalt. I like the

17:21

new things. I don't like too much

17:24

the old things. You know, even when we change

17:26

now, Monza, and there's a new

17:28

asphalt. And it seems that some of the

17:30

curves are different as well. I

17:32

know it changes the character a little bit of the circuit,

17:35

but I'm happy because we are not living in the

17:38

1950s anymore. So

17:40

things are evolving and I'm happy

17:42

to embrace that modernity. It's

17:44

so clear talking to you that it's all

17:46

about tomorrow. It's all about winning. And just

17:49

still talking about that 2010 season with

17:52

Ferrari, how was your mindset? Because I

17:54

did want to ask you about the

17:56

opportunity to go to Red Bull for

17:58

that previous season. Adrian

18:01

Ewitt designed a good car, they'd won

18:03

their first race with Mark and Sebastian.

18:06

How were you feeling about maybe

18:08

that being a missed opportunity and of course

18:10

the opportunity that Ferrari gave you? I

18:16

didn't thought too much about that, never.

18:20

Not those years and not even now.

18:22

I never regret anything. I know that

18:25

some decisions in your

18:27

Formula One career can change a lot,

18:29

what you achieve, what you cannot achieve.

18:32

I think when you take a decision,

18:34

you're fully committed to that and thinking

18:36

that is the best decision. No

18:39

one has a crystal ball to know what is going to

18:41

happen in the future. 2008,

18:44

I think it was a few moments

18:46

that I well-known that I could join Red

18:49

Bull. One was when I left McLaren

18:51

at the end of 2007. After

18:54

that season in McLaren, I find

18:56

different possibilities. I met

18:58

Adrian Christian in

19:00

Heathrow Airport for

19:02

a meeting. Secret meeting. Yeah.

19:05

Then in 2008 was the closest which

19:07

Adrian referred the other day as well.

19:11

We went in Spa. I remember perfectly, we

19:13

were in a car park in Spa

19:15

Airport, the little airport on top of the hill.

19:18

We were in that car park sitting in

19:21

the back seats, both of us at

19:23

night talking about

19:25

the possibility. I

19:27

was very close to Ferrari. If

19:30

it was not in 2009, we'll be for sure in

19:32

2010. We

19:35

went into that road and

19:37

they took Sebastian, that was in BMW

19:39

at that time doing

19:42

some Fridays and some test driving in

19:44

BMW. So yeah, that was it. What

19:46

an amazing story. Why

19:48

didn't it happen back then? Because you

19:51

seemed so happy about Adrian joining Aston

19:53

Martin now. Why didn't

19:55

it feel right back then? Again,

19:57

it's easy to say now. In

20:00

2008, Red Bull had,

20:03

I think, one podium of

20:05

David Imanico. Red Bull

20:07

was an energy drink company. Great team,

20:09

great members in the team. But

20:13

I think to predict that

20:15

they will win 7-0-8 championships

20:17

in the next decade, it

20:20

was not totally guaranteed. When

20:24

Luis changed from McLaren to Mercedes, that

20:26

first year in 2013 was a lot

20:28

of critics. Because why

20:31

you changed McLaren for a Mercedes that he

20:33

was only achieving one or two volumes until

20:35

then. And now he's a

20:37

seven-time world champion. And now the same with Ferrari.

20:39

You don't know what Luis will achieve next year.

20:42

If Ferrari does well and win a championship, it's

20:44

a great move. If Mercedes

20:46

does well and they win

20:48

a championship, it's a bad move. How can you

20:50

predict that? It's been such a

20:52

fascinating career for you so far. I

20:55

did want to ask how your

20:57

relationship with speed and driving has

20:59

changed with experience, with age. I

21:02

mean, they say that drivers never

21:04

lose it. You just lose the

21:06

desire. So how

21:08

have you kept the desire, the passion? And

21:11

how, as you've got older, do you

21:13

approach a wet Suzuka, a

21:15

wet Spa? Has that changed in the

21:17

last 10 years? It

21:20

didn't change yet. No. It's

21:22

exactly the same. I'm a

21:24

super competitive man in everything

21:26

I do and even outside

21:28

motor racing. So if you and I were

21:30

to play paddle together, right? Would

21:33

you want to absolutely… You have a chance. Fine.

21:36

May well be right. But would beating me be

21:38

enough or would you actually have to crush me?

21:41

Everything I do is just maximum

21:45

pain for my rivals. Can

21:48

we not play paddle? Yeah.

21:52

And sometimes, you know, I have to

21:54

accept that I cannot win. But then I will

21:56

put you in a list of

21:58

people that I will not play. paddle

22:01

for the next months until I know for sure

22:03

that I improve my level or If

22:06

I cannot achieve that I will never play

22:08

against you again ever Because

22:11

I hate losing. Yeah, I will have a bad

22:13

night, you know after we play But

22:15

no my relationship with speed is is the

22:17

same, you know, I love to be fast

22:19

and I love to be Brave

22:22

sometimes I still do a lot of carting.

22:24

I do still

22:26

a lot of cycling cycling I'm

22:28

a little bit more cautious on things

22:30

I do on the bike, you know

22:32

after the accident after the accident after

22:34

you know many stories that we heard

22:36

always but You know

22:38

still doing some crazy things or ski or

22:41

something, you know for me It's all about

22:43

speed and if I go

22:45

on holidays on a ski resort I

22:48

take my time watch and for example, I go

22:50

up and then I time my

22:52

way down So I don't care

22:54

about you know doing a good style

22:56

about style is all about timing So if

22:58

we arrive at the top and there is

23:00

a lot of a group of people just

23:02

going slow I wait a little bit because

23:04

if not that slope will be slow. So

23:07

I'm Searching for

23:09

not traffic and things like

23:11

that. So it's all about the speed in my life.

23:14

You haven't mellowed at all Look

23:16

a couple more races I wanted to

23:18

ask you about you know, the comeback

23:21

the podium with alpine Did

23:23

that reassure you in some way or was there

23:25

never in any doubt? He did

23:28

he did I have

23:30

huge confidence over confidence sometimes

23:32

on myself and my performance

23:36

but I took it quite seriously

23:38

my come back and I knew

23:40

that two years out things

23:42

could have changed Technology tires

23:44

Warm-up out laps. There are a lot of

23:46

things in Formula One that is not only

23:48

about the speed. It's about understanding

23:51

the environment and understanding the

23:54

evolution of certain things, you know, like the

23:56

tires which are critical now on the out

23:58

lap and temperature things like that.

24:00

So I did a lot of study and

24:03

work and I was following Renault

24:05

the previous year with Daniel and Stefan and

24:07

I was trying to get up to speed

24:09

but it took me still five races to

24:12

get up to speed. So even if I

24:14

felt that I was prepared

24:16

and I was the same as the

24:19

one left in 2018, the

24:21

first five races of 2021 I

24:24

was not happy with myself and I was

24:26

not connected to the car. I was just

24:29

thinking too much on things that the car

24:31

was doing, was kneading

24:33

and I was not driving naturally. I

24:35

was not just fast

24:38

enough. Were you over driving? No,

24:41

I was under driving. I was thinking too much.

24:43

I was just okay now

24:45

the tires they need this temperature so I'm driving

24:48

too fast. I'm using too much the rears. Now

24:50

the brake balance I will move forward in the

24:52

next corner because if not we

24:54

will lock the rears a little bit. Then I

24:57

was driving like this which is not the

24:59

natural driving. You drive at 100% and naturally

25:02

you will do the right things with

25:05

time and practice. I kneaded those

25:07

five races which is 5000km or 4000km or whatever plus

25:09

the testing to be up to speed. That

25:14

was my comeback and

25:16

then going back to your question,

25:19

when I was able to be faster I was just

25:21

more relaxed. I was happier and then the

25:23

podium was like not

25:26

weighed out of my shoulders but it

25:28

was like okay I'm happy with my

25:31

comeback. I'm the same as before

25:33

and I'm ready for whatever it comes. And

25:35

then you joined Aston Martin last year. What

25:38

has been your best race since the comeback?

25:40

It's very clear to me as an observer

25:42

but I'd love to know what you think.

25:47

I would say Monaco 2023

25:49

or Zandvoort. You

25:51

would say Brazil. Wow, I was going

25:54

to say Brazil but Zandvoort was mega as

25:56

well. Why Monaco? Because I think

25:59

we... We started the season

26:01

in 23 and we saw our

26:03

car strengths were the slow speed

26:06

corners, traction, braking.

26:09

So since Barre and Ojeda, I

26:11

said to the team, don't touch the car too

26:13

much until Monaco. Whatever

26:15

upgrades are coming, let's try to

26:17

wait for after Monaco. I

26:20

don't want to change the characteristics and the

26:22

DNA of this car until

26:24

we raise Monaco. The first

26:26

upgrade was anyway programmed for Canada, which

26:28

was after Monaco, so that was not

26:30

a risk. But slowly

26:32

through the first couple of races, we

26:34

were losing that good character

26:36

of the car and that strength. We went

26:38

to Miami and our weakest sector was the

26:41

slow speed sector. We went to

26:43

Barcelona. Our worst sector was the slow speed

26:45

sector. So for whatever

26:47

reason, it vanished a little bit, the good things

26:49

about the car that we saw in the first

26:52

races. So we came to Monaco and I

26:54

was so focused about that race that I wanted to

26:56

win that race. I wanted to

26:58

win that race. The Red Bull was a perfect machine,

27:01

but Monaco is unique. So my

27:03

biggest hope was to win Monaco.

27:05

So since I think Wednesday,

27:08

the Monaco preparation for me was the

27:10

biggest and most

27:13

precise preparation

27:15

I ever did in a weekend.

27:19

Every bump of the circuit, every data

27:21

from 2022 that Aston had, 2021, watching

27:23

races from the

27:29

past, different things. It

27:31

was a lot of detail going into that race.

27:34

In fact, I don't think that the car

27:36

was great. We put the car 20 milliseconds

27:39

from pole position, thanks to an incredible

27:42

last sector of Max. And

27:44

then in the race, again, we were not great. I

27:46

think when we started the rain, we

27:48

were 23 seconds behind Max. So

27:51

I was losing a lot of ground. We were

27:53

not fast enough. But again, we were

27:55

close to winning, if we maybe

27:57

change for another intermediate tires instead

27:59

of me. you know, whatever. So I

28:02

think that was a lot of hard work

28:04

to put close to a race win.

28:06

So I say Monaco because I

28:09

like that level of preparation and that level of

28:12

performance, even when the car

28:14

was not maybe at that level. Was

28:16

that the most prep you'd put into one race

28:18

in your career? I think so. It was the

28:21

best Q3 that I've

28:23

seen in a long time. But I thought Pérez

28:25

in Brazil, come on. I mean, that was stunning.

28:30

He gets close, he just

28:32

hangs on in a superb

28:34

finish to the line. It

28:36

was decided for third place

28:38

by 53 thousandths

28:40

of a second after an entire

28:42

Grand Prix distance. Fernando Alonso on

28:45

the podium for the eighth time

28:47

this season. But surely that is

28:49

the sweetest one of all. Yes,

28:55

he was he was also fun. But

29:00

there are some races that you start with

29:03

a plan in your head and

29:05

things evolve differently. And you

29:08

start connecting with the car more and

29:10

more. You gain one place, you

29:12

make a nice overtake, you do

29:14

a good speed stop. There is

29:16

a little bit of different climatic conditions and

29:18

you get up to speed faster

29:20

than the other. And then you get into a

29:22

mood of and connection to the car that is

29:24

a little bit higher than any other race. And

29:26

probably Brazil was one of those. And

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31:18

we've talked about a lot of the teams

31:20

you've raced for. Where have you been happiest?

31:24

I was happy in

31:27

most of my teams in

31:29

a different way. I think in Renault

31:32

it was the results and

31:35

the protection from Flavio, Patricia.

31:37

It was a nice group of

31:39

people that they were my first

31:42

faces. It's like the first school

31:45

you've been. You remember still the

31:47

teacher and your teammates and your mates

31:49

in the school. But

31:52

then Ferrari, I was happy for sure

31:54

because the environment and the Italian style,

31:57

very close to Spanish and I

31:59

was happy. McLaren and Honda was a very romantic

32:04

way of living for marijuana at that moment

32:06

because it was my first go-kart, I was

32:08

driving for McLaren and Honda. And I

32:11

would say that now in Aston, it's a

32:13

very happy place for me. I have a

32:15

great relationship with Lance, with

32:17

Lawrence, and I have

32:19

a great admiration for Lawrence as well.

32:21

You know, he has a passion for

32:23

racing. You can see Lawrence from

32:26

the outside, you know, a

32:28

strong man, and a big character,

32:30

and maybe he's too

32:33

nice with you, he's

32:35

intimidating, but he's totally

32:37

the opposite. He's an incredible leader for

32:39

all of us, and his

32:41

determination, commitment, and passion for racing,

32:44

I never saw him in anyone else. So

32:46

there's a softer side. There is

32:48

something. You need to know him, and you need

32:51

to be in the circle of confidence.

32:54

But yeah, he's a great

32:56

leader, and he has so

32:58

much success in life, I think,

33:00

because he's a great leader. Well, let's

33:02

talk about Adrian Nuit now. Is

33:05

he the final cog in the wheel?

33:07

Do you feel this team now has

33:09

everything it needs to produce, at

33:11

least a championship challenging car? I

33:14

do believe so. I

33:16

don't think that we are missing anything.

33:19

I think for me, the only

33:21

thing that we are missing, and we are

33:23

not up to speed, is just time. This

33:25

team is so new. If you compare to

33:27

any other title contender, we

33:30

are just three, four years old,

33:32

the team. So naturally,

33:35

we have to learn through mistakes. We

33:38

have to take some lessons from mistakes

33:40

that we will do. And this

33:42

is the only thing that is missing,

33:45

or we will face in the next

33:47

few years. Which at the

33:50

same time is my biggest enemy,

33:52

because I don't have that time to

33:55

go through that process of making mistakes

33:57

and learn from those. I'm

34:01

relaxed about that. I will do my best.

34:04

And I think with Adrian, now the team

34:06

has all the ingredients, especially the wind tunnel.

34:09

And Adrian were the two biggest,

34:12

or the two things that we missed more in

34:14

the last two seasons. Wind tunnel,

34:17

having our own wind tunnel in-house

34:19

where you can produce

34:21

a part, test it, analyze

34:24

it, maybe come back tomorrow.

34:26

We don't have now. We are just using the Mercedes

34:28

wind tunnel. When we are allowed to use

34:30

it, in that time they

34:33

tell us, and this is what we

34:35

have. And this is going

34:37

to be a game changer for the team.

34:39

And then Adrian is just the

34:42

man producing the fastest cars

34:44

in the world. Plus, I think

34:47

he will be a great leader for

34:49

a lot of young people we have. I know

34:51

you were chatting to him in the back of

34:53

the car at Spa Airport all those years ago,

34:55

but now you've been able to chat to Adrian

34:57

properly. Do you find him

34:59

stimulating? Are you quite similar in your

35:01

approaches to the sport? I think

35:03

I don't know well enough,

35:05

Adrian, to know

35:08

when he's motivated

35:11

or less motivated or in which

35:15

state of mind he is now for

35:17

the project. But I think

35:19

listening to him and I think the

35:22

knowledge that he has about

35:24

moderation is enough to

35:26

make a difference on any organisation.

35:29

And for us, for sure, it's going to

35:31

be like that. He can see

35:33

things by the first look that

35:36

it will take one month for a

35:38

group of very clever people to spot

35:40

that. And this

35:44

is priceless in Formula One because the

35:46

race is next week. We don't have

35:48

one year to analyse a thing. So

35:50

I think that magic will be incredible

35:53

to witness. So it's not a professional

35:55

adventure that I'm in now in Aston

35:57

Martin, it's a personal adventure.

35:59

that I'm so looking forward to

36:03

have lunch with him, to sit with him

36:05

in a meeting room or in a race

36:07

weekend in an airport, taking a flight together,

36:09

talk about the race, about the

36:11

plans and things like that will be so rewarding

36:14

for me personally as well,

36:16

to learn from a man

36:19

like him. Clearly, it's all about 2026

36:21

with the rule changes. But

36:23

do you think he can influence 25? Because

36:26

it's going to be so close and his

36:28

holistic view of how to go

36:30

racing and how to set up a car will

36:32

help, right? I would like to say yes, but

36:36

if I'm honest, I'm 99.9 or 100%.

36:41

He cannot do much for 2025, unfortunately for us.

36:44

But I think he will join

36:46

in March 25. I

36:49

think the focus will be so much in 26

36:51

because of the change of regulations. There

36:53

is a cost cap. There are a lot of limitations

36:55

that we cannot have two programs,

36:58

two separate programs on 25

37:00

campaign and 26. And

37:02

actually, and being

37:05

honest, the 2025

37:08

is unlikely that we fight for big things. If

37:10

we see now 24, how

37:13

things are going, top four teams, big

37:15

gap, the rest of the teams. I

37:17

don't think that anyone can close that gap next

37:20

winter. So I

37:22

don't think that it changes so much

37:24

for us to be fifth in the championship

37:26

in 25 or six or fourth.

37:30

And it changes a lot if in

37:32

26 we start with the right foot.

37:35

So I think 2025, we have to

37:38

deal ourselves without Adrian. And I think

37:40

we are more than capable of doing

37:42

so. But yeah, the

37:44

biggest goal is 26. And I

37:46

think he should focus on that. You

37:48

talk about closing the gap. The gap is

37:50

not big. And I'm going to remind you

37:52

that you were only what, two tenths off

37:54

pole in Montreal this year. That's

37:57

not a big gap. That's not that. It's

38:00

not a big gap to close. I remember only the worst race

38:02

since then. In

38:05

qualifying it's true that things are extremely

38:07

close. Even

38:09

in Q1 we see sometimes the first

38:11

guy and the 16th is only 3

38:13

or 4 tenths. But

38:15

I think it's just a casualty and

38:17

a mix of factors where the top

38:20

teams, they don't push so much in

38:22

Q1, they don't use

38:24

too many set of tyres, and

38:26

the guys at the back we need to do everything

38:28

we can in Q1 to go through. So

38:31

I think the

38:33

gaps we normally look at

38:35

are more in the races on Sundays, and

38:38

on Sundays we see that 50% of the time

38:40

we get lapped by the leader.

38:42

And this is more than one second a

38:44

lap. So if you want

38:46

to close one second a lap in race

38:48

day, it's a big thing. The

38:52

Fernando Alonso I'm sitting opposite

38:54

seems more energised, enthusiastic. Are

38:57

you going to prolong your career now that you've

38:59

got Adrian? I

39:01

don't want to stress too much about that. I

39:03

will lie if I tell you that I didn't

39:06

think about it. Obviously I will race

39:08

25-26. And

39:10

then in 26 I think I will

39:12

see how I feel, how motivated I

39:15

am, and I will discuss

39:17

it for sure with Lawrence and

39:19

with Adrian eventually, what

39:22

will be the best for the team. I

39:24

have a long-term commitment with Aston. I

39:26

will be working for Aston

39:28

for many years, behind the

39:30

wheel or in a different position. And

39:33

as I said, because we enter in

39:35

this personal adventure

39:38

of working with a talent like Adrian, I

39:41

want to experience that behind the wheel, yes, but

39:44

I'm not too scared of

39:47

working alongside somehow and

39:50

seeing Aston winning even

39:52

if I'm not behind the wheel. Because I

39:54

will feel when I'm not ready

39:57

to give something extra behind the

39:59

wheel. the wheel to the team and maybe someone

40:01

else can do a better job and I will

40:04

be very honest on that and

40:07

I will not be disconnected to the team so

40:09

I will feel if we win eventually when

40:12

I'm not driving I will enjoy it a little bit

40:14

as well. Fandor, what a brilliant

40:16

chat. I mean 400 races, here's to the

40:18

next 400. I think you're going to be

40:20

around a long time. Look, can I end

40:22

this in what I call the traditional way?

40:24

We have some quick fire questions. What

40:26

else are you good at? You

40:30

see, not much. Not many things.

40:32

I would say cooking. I'm

40:34

a good chef. What's your signature dish?

40:37

Bahia. Okay. Which

40:40

racing person, dead

40:42

or alive, would you like to be

40:44

stuck in a lift with? Earton

40:47

Senna. It was my the idol, it was my

40:49

inspiration to become a Formula One driver so you

40:52

know it will be probably the

40:54

name that I will choose. Is there one

40:57

thing you'd like to ask Earton Senna? No,

40:59

I'm normally not a person of asking

41:01

too many questions. I'm a good listener and I

41:04

love to listen to people that I admire

41:07

and learn from them. Who

41:09

would play you in a film? No idea.

41:12

Brad Pitt. Handsome

41:14

one. Who

41:16

is the coolest person in your contacts?

41:20

Uh, no idea. They are

41:22

all cool. I

41:24

have a lot of contacts in my phone but 99%

41:26

of my

41:29

usage of my phone is with my family.

41:32

All the rest is just there but I'm

41:35

not a phone guy. Now I

41:37

know you've just said you don't like to ask questions

41:39

but if, this is the final question, if

41:42

you had a podcast like this, who

41:44

would be your first guest? Um,

41:48

Max Wistappen. I'd listen to that. Fernando,

41:52

great to have you on. Thank you very much. Thank you. There's

42:01

definitely a lot of mutual respect

42:03

between Fernando and Max, so that

42:05

would be a great podcast. Make

42:08

it happen, Fernando. I

42:10

hope you enjoyed this episode as much as

42:12

I did. As I said at the start,

42:14

Fernando is a legend. He's always fascinating, and

42:16

he mentioned many things in this chat that

42:19

I'd never heard him say before, most notably

42:21

his plans to retire at the end of

42:23

2009. Thank

42:25

goodness he decided against that. Fernando,

42:28

thank you for your time. Enjoy

42:31

the 400 race celebrations this weekend in

42:33

Mexico, and I'll speak to you again

42:35

very soon. Please

42:37

let me know what you thought of this

42:39

conversation through all the usual means. I'm at

42:41

Tom Clarkson F1, where you can use the

42:43

hashtag F1 beyond the grid. And

42:46

that of course brings me on to

42:48

what you sent in about last week's

42:50

show with McLaren engineer Tom Stallard. I

42:53

loved that episode, learning about Tom's rowing

42:55

career right through to his experiences with

42:57

McLaren and Oscar Piastri today. I

43:00

thought this note from Shantanu Yadav summed

43:02

up a lot of the messages we

43:04

received. I've been waiting to listen to

43:06

a long, in-depth conversation with Tom. Someone

43:09

like him, a world champion who has lived

43:11

and breathed excellence, can be a wealth of

43:13

wisdom, and I'm sure McLaren must be so

43:15

much better for it. I couldn't agree more,

43:18

Shantanu, and thank you for getting in touch.

43:21

Right, that's almost it for this week.

43:23

I hope you enjoyed hearing from Fernando.

43:25

Thank you for listening. And if you

43:27

want more F1 podcasts, why not tune

43:29

in to F1 Nation or F1 Explains

43:31

or both? The latest episodes of

43:33

both shows are available on your podcast app

43:35

now. I will of course be back next

43:37

week with another great guest from the world

43:39

of Formula One. But for now,

43:42

F1 Beyond the Grid is produced by Formula

43:44

One and Audio Boom Studios. Until

43:47

next time, keep it Flatt out. Take

43:56

some time to take care of

43:58

yourself and your family this fall.

44:00

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44:02

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