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The preparation has been long, intense

and difficult for everyone.

The time comes when it's just you

and the car, in front of the starting lights,

it's time to compete, and that's a unique moment.

You've prepared for many months

with just one goal in sight,

and that moment has arrived.

The people watching the race

keep an eye on the blue car

to see what happens on the first lap.

EPISODE 1 YOU'D BETTER HOPE I DON'T WIN

MARCH 2020

Today I informed the head of state

an extraordinary council of ministers will be held tomorrow

to declare a state of alarm

across our country, across Spain.

The Spanish Grand Prix will not be held this weekend.

Officially it's postponed.

But it is more likely there will be no season.

The Bahrain and Vietnam GPs are being cancelled too

and the F1 organizers hope to start at the end of May.

At the earliest, the world championship

will start in June.

TWO YEARS AFTER RETIRING, FERNANDO PREPARES

HIS F1 COMEBACK IN THE MIDST OF THE PANDEMIC

It's been a very unusual year.

Things happened that made you very worried on some days,

more hopeful on others.

There were optimistic days and pessimistic ones,

the pandemic, the difficulties and restrictions,

the bicycle accident.

With all these things going on, you try to grow.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Life outside the car.

He isn't just working on improving the car,

he wants to be the best prepared.

The enthusiasm with which Fernando is preparing his return

surprises all of us

who have known him for years.

He seems totally reinvigorated,

like I haven't seen him in years.

I'm like a motorbike!

When he said, "I'm up for it,"

the look on his face said, "I'm coming back to win!"

Fer quit Formula One

two years ago.

He kicked the habit.

When I take part in something, I'm always worried

things won't go well.

There are two Fernandos.

When his helmet's on, he's another person.

If a two-time world champion joined my team,

I'd be motivated to beat them,

to be better.

Awesome!

Fernando's principal trait

is his blind faith in himself.

The problem Alonso will face is,

everyone expects the best of him.

My hopes for his comeback? That he won't get injured.

I think he's coming back to win.

They know who they're dealing with.

If you give a guy like him a competitive car,

you never know what he'll do.

With drivers like Fernando, there are no excuses.

I'm one of the 20 people in the world

who can drive a Formula One car.

I just want to win.

LUGANO SWITZERLAND

After a short post-Dakar break,

I came here, to Switzerland,

and I wanted to hang out at home

after a hectic 2019.

But I ended up staying at home far longer than I'd imagined!

The months of March, April, May and June

were a new life for all of us,

just hanging out at home.

With lots of video calls,

with real concern for family living far away.

He was out of his comfort zone,

where everything is under control

and everything is planned

down to the last detail.

Then the pandemic hit.

He knew there was nothing that he

or anyone else could do about it.

Fernando

was really anxious about it.

I wouldn't say he's a hypochondriac

but when it comes to health,

he has always been very mindful.

You suddenly feel like a six-year-old kid

who is left behind at the store and totally lost.

You're powerless before the world, before this new situation,

and you don't know how to react.

You need your parents' advice.

I was lucky enough to be with my parents.

We formed a bubble.

We spoke every day

and fortunately, none of us had any health issues.

We respected all the measures.

We stayed shut up at home,

keeping one another company.

The lockdown kind of coincided

with my desire, or my intention, to return to Formula One.

The calls started, the sounding out too.

A few teams wanted to make changes.

In the middle of the lockdown,

you start thinking seriously

about returning to Formula One.

My return has to come

with that,

with some great guarantees

and on the right foot.

And I think...

I feel we're on the right track.

I told my people and my parents

about the talks I was having with the teams

to see if they had a preference, especially my family.

The person he consulted most was my father.

He has confidence in his advice

and I guess Dad's the person he trusts most.

With Alonso, the rumours change daily.

It's "yes" one day, "no" the next, Aston Martin then Renault.

Fernando is discussing

- his options... - He's listening not discussing.

MARCIN BUDKOWSKI ALPINE F1 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Alonso's 2021 F1 comeback: Renault interested?

Fernando Alonso is joining Team Renault.

The news will likely be announced

sometime next week.

The deal was wrapped up in the past few days.

Fernando Alonso is returning to F1

20 years after he started in F1.

Fernando Alonso makes a one with his finger!

He crosses the chequered flag!

Brakes, crosses, waves!

Fernando Alonso wins

the Hungary Grand Prix!

When he was with Minardi, people said that Jean Todt

wanted him for Ferrari and that he'd join them.

In the end, Briatore took him to Renault.

I remember thinking:

"Fuck, not Renault." But he got two world titles.

And it's the same thing this time.

It's important for him to feel competitive again.

This situation with Renault will give him that.

CHRIS MEDLAND JOURNALIST

There was a possibility of other teams...

But in the end he chose Renault

because it felt like coming home.

It's important for him now.

It really is about the motivation

of coming back to F1.

It obviously isn't the same thing

accepting these challenges when you're 20

and accepting them when you're 39.

Returning to Formula One definitely has its risks.

But my last few years in Formula One

were mid-grid or further back.

So I can easily improve on that.

Everyone at Renault

is really excited and happy.

So the engineers have no excuses.

Not with drivers like Fernando.

He's back because he wants to be happy.

He knows he's happiest when he's driving

the world's fastest cars.

And the fastest cars are F1 cars.

But now Fernando has...

He has switched. He's a virgin again.

He's like he was 20 years ago

when it comes to excitement,

energy, motivation, and physical preparation.

I mean, he even looks physically younger.

He'll definitely give Renault all the means

for Renault to win again.

In the end, with Renault, there was this special feeling.

Coming back home appealed to me.

I wanted

to have another shot at it.

Now was the right time to do it.

AUGUST 2020

FERNANDO IS GEARING UP FOR HIS NEXT CHALLENGE

THE INDIANAPOLIS 500

Even though you've signed and your mind is already set

on the 2021 Formula One season,

a part of you knows, your competitive side,

there's a very important race before the 2021 season,

and that's the Indy 500.

The dream of clinching the Triple Crown

in the modern racing era,

by winning the F1, Le Mans and the Indy,

is still an appealing idea

and something I'm aiming for.

Indianapolis was the first post-lockdown race

we had to organize.

We did everything remotely.

Fernando Alonso is bound for the United States

to compete

in the Indianapolis 500

after McLaren managed to resolve

a U.S. visa hurdle.

The race will be run on August 23

without fans in the stands.

The Indy is the most important race in the world of motorsport.

The track is huge.

It's an oval whose size you can't possibly imagine

until you actually see it.

There's a golf course in the middle.

You could fit 4 or 5.

Formula One tracks in the oval.

It's the oldest race in the world of motorsport

and if you win the Indy 500 you make racing history.

DOUG BOLES IMS PRESIDENT

Fernando is back with McLaren but not its Formula One team,

its Indycar team.

He is competing in the next Indy 500.

The #66 car

is an Arrow McLaren SP powered by a Chevrolet engine.

The team will be guided by engineer Craig Hampson.

From day one, we kept a very open mind.

We didn't rule out any adjustments to the car

or experimenting things.

We were striving to be

as well prepared as possible

while knowing there was no bump day.

That was the most important element.

As only 33 cars were entered,

the whole week was more relaxed

and the pressure was off

the teams, drivers and engineers.

The big difference this year was that I had teammates.

Pato O'Ward and Oliver Askew were my teammates.

These two young drivers

were doing the whole IndyCar Series not just the Indianapolis 500.

They had the experience

that we had lacked the previous year.

And I think the meetings, the sharing of data,

everything we tried in the week

before the time trials and the race,

really helped us grow as a team.

And we gave each other a hand.

The fact we had a 3-car structure

meant everyone better understood the mechanics of the car.

Are you medium or large?

- I'm medium. - They're customised now.

Usually it's medium. And you?

- Customised obviously. - I'm medium too.

57 or so.

I used to like it really tight

because here, on the oval, it moved about a lot.

Single seater always.

I had an experience here once

when it was really loose

and the helmet rose up

so I tightened it fully, and I got used to it.

But now I have it really tight.

Because my eyes, when it moves about a lot,

I can't see a damn thing!

MARIO ANDRETTI INDY 500 AND FORMULA 1 WINNER

Media Day had to be maintained.

It's called Media Day for a reason.

And I had to deal with everyone remotely.

QUALIFYING DAY

FERNANDO HAS 4 LAPS TO SET HIS BEST TIME

The 4 laps at Indianapolis

are the 4 most stressful laps

in your life as a racing driver.

I said to Alberto and to my people in Spain,

"There's no bump day this year, so we'll do the 4 laps flat out.

"Hopefully there'll be no mishaps or scares.

"The time we set is the time we deserve.

"If the run goes well

"and there are no major mishaps,

"we'll stick with that time." And we did.

- The car isn't bad, is it? - No, on Wednesday, Thursday...

I think a race pace, a downforce race...

I also think the Chevy is an engine that's...

- Better? - That's right.

When they added the boost, Chevy lost a little something.

- I agree. - So I think for the race...

Because the team's 3 cars were in the top 15 every time.

And yesterday we were in the last 20 to 30...

That's the deal. We'll start from the back.

In any case, if you get pole position,

or if you're in the top 3, you'll start in the first row.

If you start from 11th or 17th, you have to hope for a miracle.

Whatever.

It's an unpredictable track.

There are usually 10, 12, 14 different leaders.

The good news is, Manu,

that McLaren's team this year

has some awesome engineers

and they can really help Fernando.

Alonso's tactician is excellent: Craig Hampson.

He's one of the best in his league

and he already knows what it is to win in Indianapolis.

CRAIG HAMPSON ARROW MCLAREN SP RACE ENGINEER

I know he has the skills

and the experience to put a competitive car on the track

and I don't yet.

In IndyCar, I'm still a rookie.

SCOTT GOODYEAR FERNANDO'S SPOTTER

3 DAYS UNTIL THE RACE

We have 3 days off

which we'll spend relaxing,

doing some sport, clearing our minds.

1901.

Is that right?

Because the 500 miles

in 1905

lasted 5 and a half or 6 hours.

And there were always 2...

The motorhome

was a test of friendship too!

We spent ages in it together but we're used to it now.

It was just another test.

One looked forwards, one looked backwards.

The rear-view mirror was invented here.

But 500 miles looking backwards!

- I'd feel sick. - Just imagine!

For the driver,

for personal time,

for race preparation time,

it wasn't bad.

You have much more time than you did before.

But another week of it and we'd have gone stir-crazy.

We couldn't go out, we were stuck in our motorhomes.

I recorded you.

RACE DAY

Obviously I turned up

with memories of last year

when we had a hard time.

We had problems.

Maybe we weren't as prepared

as we should have been.

MAY 2019

Having 300,000 spectators

in the stands of a track this size,

and with US-style enthusiasm too,

where the show is much more important

than the race itself maybe, I'll miss that.

It seems more like a test

than a real race

where you have to be competitive.

Until you have a crash, you go fast,

you get close to the walls,

more in the time trials, less in practice...

You do what you want.

But when you really hit the wall or lose control,

before you come to a halt,

metres and metres and metres and seconds go by...

You roll over and over.

Even with the brake on and the wheels blocked,

you need tons of metres.

You see your mates crash

and you see how the car is,

and how it affects them,

not only physically but mentally.

Sometimes it's physical,

other times it makes you feel less confident

about going into corners at full speed

and not slowing down.

Every lap I did,

I was just thinking: "If I spin around here,"

"if I lose control here..."

It isn't that I was scared, I was just calculating

where I would hit the wall.

It was a total nightmare.

I tried to put it into 1st.

The car was in neutral, 1st, neutral...

It was the clutch. They started to push me

in 1st gear, like with a road car when you push it downhill.

They said, "If the steering wheel levers are broken",

"we'll change it."

So I swapped the steering wheel for a new one.

It still wouldn't go into 1st.

The race was so tough, driving the car was so difficult

and it felt so bad...

I was looking at the engineers and kind of hoping to hear,

"Switch off the car, we're retiring."

But at the same time,

you want to finish, see the flag, cross the bricks

and finish an Indy 500 at least once in your life.

That's what we tried to do from that point.

We kept our cool and encouraged each other over the radio.

And we climbed positions due to accidents,

thanks to our tactics, thanks to the track.

We were gaining ground.

AFTER THE CRASH, THE RACE ENDED UNDER A YELLOW FLAG

FERNANDO FINISHED 21ST

We all felt that we had done what we could

but we'd have liked to have done a bit more.

I wished I could have given more to the team,

they wished they had given me a more comfortable car.

OLIVER ASKEW FERNANDO'S TEAMMATE

We're going to leave it in neutral.

We're owed another shot at it.

IN THE NEXT EPISODE

It's as if we've landed on Mars.

You learn to spend a lot of time by yourself

and this solitude can often be hard.

I just want to go home for Christmas.

Fernando wants to make a serious comeback

and he will. That means training hard.

No pain?

I'm like a motorbike!