Alonso: As focussed as if we were fighting for the title

In his regular Thursday meeting with the media in the Suzuka paddock, at times it seemed Fernando Alonso was delivering a lecture on sports motivation, as he was asked at length about what would drive him on now the championship titles were out of reach. “I think even if it is only this weekend that for the first time we no longer have a mathematical chance of winning the championship, it has already been at least three or four race that we no longer had high hopes of taking the titles,” began the Ferrari man. “So, it is not a dramatic change in terms of our approach for this weekend. I always feel motivated because when you are a Formula 1 driver it means you are a competitive person: I don’t like cars overtaking me, I like to overtake cars. I don’t like to be on the third or fourth row of the grid, I want to be on pole position and this is why there is always a motivation to keep pushing. Now, it’s just the same, in that I want to win and I want to be on pole position. I know it might not be possible at the moment, given our current performance level, but you always have the hope you can do it. For the remaining five races we will try to do our best, trying to finish in the highest position possible.”

As for the remaining targets, the Spaniard prioritised the team prize. “For the championship I think the most important thing is to get second place off McLaren in the Constructors’,” he said. “It will be very difficult, but we will be pushing for that. In the Drivers,’ second is also a possibility, but I don’t think second or third or fifth changes much, because after a couple of months you forget completely about that. I would prefer to win one of the five remaining races than to finish second in the championship, to be honest. Hopefully in one or two of these last races, let’s hope we have a car that is competitive enough to allow us to challenge for the top place. We will also be trying to learn something for next year, by introducing new parts on the car in these remaining races. But like I said, we are competitive people and I don’t see anyone in the Ferrari garage looking happy at being third or fourth with others ahead of us. Everyone in the team is as focussed as if this was the last race and we were fighting for the title. We want to do well and that is all the motivation we need.”

Asked if there was any way the Drivers’ crown would not go to Vettel this weekend, Alonso was very clear in his view: “Sebastian has the title in his pocket, even if he decides to watch Sunday’s race here on TV! I think he will enjoy this title more than the first as he is more relaxed and he has had time to see it coming. He will be able to prepare better for the party!”