By role
April 22 2003

Renault’s F1 driver Fernando Alonso left Sunday race quite happy with the result he had achieved and also with the fight that he had had in order to finish 6th at the San Marino GP. Renault’s F1 driver Fernando Alonso left Sunday race quite happy with the result he had achieved and also with the fight that he had had in order to finish 6th at the San Marino GP. Alonso values quite highly to arrive to his home GP on 4th position on the Driver’s Championship: “To arrive to the GP of Spain placed 4th, two points away of the second place and one point away of Michael (Schumacher), is something we could never have expected at the start of the season”
He fought a hard race at Imola to keep the 6th position as Montoya was pushing at the end:
“It has been a good race, with a good strategy, and everything has come out perfect. I have been racing most of the time alone and setting laps within the qualification time. The car with more fuel goes better, and all came just right”
“This was an important race for us, especially after how the weekend started, that it did not look good for us. To score points in all the four races is more than we expected, and we are showing that we have quite a high level. He said “To be in front of a Williams makes us think that we have to keep working hard to be in front, though more from our work than by mistakes of the others.”
“The start of the RACE was quite good. We have quite a good launch control and I was hoping to pass Webber and Villeneuve on the start. I arrived to the first turn without problems. And I was quite worried in that point as we all arrive quite close to each other. This time I arrived quite calmed, as I was alone. We have perfectly taken advantage of the circumstances.”
So how easy could have been for him to finish better? He ads: “It was a pity that Coulthard passed me on the pits and in the laps between my pit entrance and his. I have had a bit of traffic, and well, his car is better. To be fighting there is more than expected, I have said so many times: if McLaren, Ferrari and Williams finish the race we, “in theory”, have to be behind them”
So, what is with the strategy? Renault went for only 2 stops, something very few teams did: “We started with an strategy of 3 stops, but with the possibilities to change it depending of the result or the rain. We decided to go with more fuel on the second stop in order to end the race and we got it right.” The Spanish driver mentioned.
“On the first leg of the race I was able to sep with Raikkonen’s pace, and at the end I had no problems keeping Montoya at bay, since I was being kept updated by boxes and I could control my advantage and keep the car in perfect state” Alonso said.
Next up is the Spanish GP and Alonso is more motivated than ever for that race: “My main wish is not to disappoint the fans. I am going to give all I have, even a bit more in Spain. Maybe the car will go better. On paper is a circuit that fits better our car, with fast corners, where the aero is quite important.” Fernando said. “I would like to give a good reason to cheer all the fans that will attend. I hope we have a car fest in Spain for the fans.