Alonso also details his experiences with the American race fans
Fernando Alonso is a free agent looking for a permanent gig
Fernando Alonso spent 17 years in the world of F1. He ran 312 races and collected 32 wins, a win percentage of 10%. 16,777 laps later, he’s retired from F1.
In the last two years, Alonso has been in an experimental or exploratory period of his racing career. He’s run in IMSA, Indycar and done a seat swap in the #48 NASCAR machine usually driven by Jimmie Johnson.
Thus far, these events have been one-off deals. He’s yet to sign a contract that glues him to a new racing series in his post-F1 era.
While the former McLaren F1 driver doesn’t know yet what he’ll be doing. It will be something…
Fernando Alonso talks plans for his racing career
“I don’t know exactly right now, what I will do after June,” Fernando Alonso stated from the Daytona International Speedway media center.
Through June, Fernando Alonso will run the Rolex 24 Hour race at Daytona International Speedway. Then, he’ll run Sebring with Toyota. The schedule will conclude with Spa, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“After that, I have a couple of different ideas. I will let you know when I know. It’s a definite possibility that I could race in different venues with IMSA in the future. And why not maybe do the full championship one day?”
“But, it’s not about the short term. It’s more about the medium-long term.”
American race fans
Are a gifted section of the motorsports fan base. Fans of various forms of American auto racing are allowed close access to the teams and drivers. That concept spreads from NASCAR to drag racing and everything in between.
That’s polar opposite to the world of F1. In F1, there’s multiple fences between the fans and the pit area. If you feel bold and attempt to close those lines, you will be tackled and ejected from the race track.
Does Fernando Alonso have a moment that stands out with the American race fans?
“There were a lot of good moments last year. And already this year where a couple of kids were even jumping in the car at one point.”
“They get really close to the teams, drivers and cars. They can even touch the car if they want. It’s something unthinkable in Formula One and racing in Europe.”
“It’s the nice part of this atmosphere. In weeks time, it will be even bigger with all the fans here. And how close they are on the pit lane as well. When you jump in the car you’re still signing autographs and taking pictures with the helmet on as you wait for the car to come down the pit lane.”
“Sometimes you need to tell them that you are in a critical moment and that you should be ready to jump in.”
“At the same time, if you embrace that and enjoy that, it’s a very nice event. It’s nice to see all the emotion from the fans when they see the cars.”
More
Fernando Alonso and Jimmie Johnson talk the details of the F1/NASCAR seat swap
Alonso retirement video; NASCAR invites Alonso
Fernando Alonso expresses interest in NASCAR
Links
Fernando Alonso | Wayne Taylor Racing | IMSA | F1 | McLaren F1 | Daytona International Speedway
