Fernando Alonso feels Interlagos, where he won both of his world championships in 2005 and 2006, is a special place to go racing.
Like fellow multiple world champion Lewis Hamilton, the Spaniard has enjoyed success in Sao Paulo without having actually won the Brazilian Grand Prix in 14 attempts. He has had numerous podium appearances, but one of his more notable races was in 2003 as a huge crash stopped the race and he was sent to the hospital for checks.
Despite that one negative, Alonso said: “I think every racing driver enjoys racing at Interlagos. It’s obviously a special place, and we saw at the last race just how important it is to have packed grandstands full of passionate fans – and Brazil is no different. I love this place.”
The Spaniard made waves across social media with his antics last year after his McLaren-Honda failed him in the first part of qualifying. He would pull up at a marshals post and sat on a deck chair to enjoy the sunshine.
Alonso did make it back to the pits only to have fun by going up on the podium also with teammate Jenson Button, as they certainly made use of the free time after both being knocked out of the first part of qualifying.
Despite a poor performance in at the last race in Mexico, with the progress McLaren-Honda have made since last season, Alonso feels optimistic of a better result than the results might have shown.
“I think we’ll be looking to bounce back in Brazil after a disappointing weekend in Mexico,” Alonso said.
“One of our aims will be to make the most of practice and qualifying and give ourselves the best chance of maintaining a better position during the race.”
Honda recently tweeted an interesting fun fact about Alonso’s record in Brazil.
Twitter: Did you know that @alo_oficial has scored more podium finishes in Brazil than any other current driver? #F1Facts… https://t.co/CKV5A9XqXn (@HondaRacingF1)
