Original subtitles

GEOFF SIMMONDS - FORMER RENAULT F1 RACE TEAM COORDINATOR

Fernando Alonso. What a great impact the R25 had.

Fernando Alonso is going to test the R25.

He won his two world titles with this car.

Fifteen laps in total.

The sound of the V10 is back.

Those who've heard this engine on a track,

it hurts, no joke, you have to wear earplugs.

LEWIS HAMILTON SEVEN-TIME F1 WORLD CHAMPION

EPISODE 3 THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD

FROM ABU DHABI, FERNANDO FOLLOWS THE TURKISH GP QUALIFIERS

I have a small, remote garage

where I can follow the race on the computer

the team gave me on the first day.

I can hear the drivers' radios.

ALAN PERMANE ALPINE F1 SPORTING DIRECTOR

Good. They're all improving.

I can remember details of every circuit

I've ever raced, not just F1 circuits,

World Endurance Championships too and even some stages of Dakar,

many kart circuits

or almost all those I've raced.

Can you remember how many corners Silverstone has?

Yes.

- How many? - 1, 2, 3, 4...

18.

SILVERSTONE HAS 18 CORNERS

Which gear would you use for the 3rd corner?

Second gear for the 3rd.

And the 7th corner at Imola?

The 7th at Imola... I only did it with the simulator

but it's 3rd gear for the 7th at Imola.

What is the record for the fastest lap at Spa?

I think it's 1.42 at Spa

or 1.41 and a half, something like that.

THE SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS FASTEST LAP RECORD IS 1:41:02

I'm good at remembering those things

and very bad at remembering others.

I believe that the mind has a certain capacity,

our hard disk, you could say, has a certain capacity

and for one thing to go in, another has to come out.

A pal might ask if I remember going to a certain restaurant

but it's as if they're talking Chinese,

as if I wasn't at that circuit

on that day or year with them.

They can't believe it because it's quite a recent memory

but I try to erase things like that from my mind

to free up space.

LUGANO SWITZERLAND

I've lived in England,

Geneva,

Spain, Dubai and Lugano.

I like change, I like to try different places,

different cultures.

Here, the truth is

I don't have many issues with privacy

and living a normal life. I can go to the supermarket,

for a run in the park,

I can spend an afternoon at the terrace

of a café

without being recognised much.

Good morning.

I'd like a white baguette.

That one.

Is that all?

- Do you want a bag? - No, it's OK.

- It's OK? - Yes.

- How much is that? - Two francs, please.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

- Have a good day. - You too.

I feel like my life takes place between one Sunday and the next.

This Sunday was Australia, next Sunday, it's China.

So what do I do between Australia and China?

Where do I go to recharge my batteries

that has good quality of life, where I can practise sports,

go to the supermarket and cook without being hassled?

That's what I call home.

- Hi, mate. - Hi there.

- What's up? - I'm here.

Cool.

Slippers.

There was no traffic.

- None at all? - None.

- And crossing the border was OK? - Perfect.

They didn't ask me for any documents.

- OK. - Shall I take this up?

We made up for the lack

of being able to meet up

by calling each other

more often, regularly,

and texting almost daily,

to keep an eye on everything.

It was strange but I think

that things are starting to return

not to normal,

but we are seeing each other again.

If we hadn't met up for a while, we'd say,

"Let's meet up here for a bit,"

just to see each other, to share things and to plan too.

I was looking into buying a football table

for the motorhome.

The size of this table.

There's a multi-game table.

It includes table football, billiards,

the one with the discs,

ping-pong and another game.

Seven games in one, you just change the top part.

Is it a reasonable size?

I think it's very small.

We've known each other since childhood.

As we got older, we grew apart a little,

but later on, my studies enabled me

to work in a field closely linked to Formula One

and to the team he was with, which was Ferrari.

I'm not sure, mate. This one, I guess.

It's habit.

This one's better, right?

White?

White for these two,

not this one. For this, I'd use

dark blue.

But for these two, white.

And it doesn't put the price up?

A little, yes.

I'd like to be able to sell them as cheaply as possible.

I had to study industrial design

then a masters in transport design and automation.

That enabled me to spend five amazing years

designing the exteriors of Ferrari road cars.

At the end of the day, his work

is also our shared passion.

This means

we might be talking about work but at the same time

we're talking about hobbies, sport,

about what we like and what brought us together.

It's missing a touch here

but just a little. I think it's quite good.

It's not bad, is it? I thought it would be worse.

It's cool.

I have one of the best jobs in the world.

Not the best, that's his job,

but the second best.

Hi, Ana, I've just checked the flights

but they're no good

because I'll get to Bahrain around 6 or 7 in the morning.

You do the test then stay in the hotel for 24 hours.

I need a flight that gets to Bahrain in the afternoon or evening.

I guess from Frankfurt would be the best option,

Zurich - Frankfurt - Frankfurt - Bahrain,

on the Saturday.

Let's see if that's possible.

Kiss-kiss.

This period

has turned us into

almost professional travellers:

where we can go, what the restrictions are,

how far in advance we have to do certain tests.

We got used to this new reality.

I did another test this morning.

They stick it up, up, up...

When they take it out, your eyes are streaming

and you think it's over,

and as I'm pushing the mask up,

it's going in the other side and happening again!

Be prepared!

It tickles.

What's happening, are they going to ban Alonso?

There's a considerable hitch.

Renault are trying, by all means possible,

to get Fernando in the car after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Renault want him to do the test with a 2020 car,

a thorough test.

But it's a test for young drivers.

CHRIS MEDLAND JOURNALIST

MARCIN BUDKOWSKI ALPINE F1 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The teams should agree.

Renault raised it with the other teams

and 3 of them said no.

McLaren, Racing Point and Ferrari.

The only one to directly object was the McLaren team.

Alonso is officially with McLaren for the next 2 seasons

with an option for a 3rd.

ANDREW BENSON JOURNALIST

He experienced McLaren

but then Formula One changed.

By that, I mean that the car became much more important

than the driver.

And there was Mercedes' dominance, which is still occurring.

When he was with McLaren

and we knew that it was

a mission to get points

that made me very sad.

I remembered the McLaren and Honda issue

then they gave him the same old banger.

McLaren wasn't the right team.

Mistakes happen.

We made some good choices and we made some bad ones.

My mum was biased against McLaren.

She appears all sweet and kind

but if you cross her once,

she doesn't forget it.

So I think that what happened in 2007

stayed with her, and she no longer trusts them.

From our family's point of view,

the goal isn't for Fernando to win world titles.

We just want him to be able to do his job and be lucky.

His happiness didn't depend

on 2, 3 or 4 world titles. That wasn't what made him happy.

And they didn't pay him any less

for not winning those world titles,

nor was his reputation tarnished

for not winning them.

"But I don't have to carry on

"trying to prove that I'm the best.

"Whatever happens, I'll always go as fast

"as the cars allow me to,

"and with total professionalism."

There comes a point when this isn't fun enough.

Fernando Alonso has announced

that he is leaving Formula One.

It no longer excites him, he needs a new challenge.

He has incredible talent,

he is much appreciated in Formula One circles

and highly respected.

ZAK BROWN MCLAREN RACING CEO

Formula One has confirmed that Alonso will be allowed to drive

the Renault car in the young driver test.

In Sauber, Robert Kubica was going to take part,

36 years old, no comment.

In Red Bull, Sébastien Buemi was going to take part,

he's 35 years old, no comment.

But the issue was me and whether I could take part.

Fernando Alonso isn't here on holiday.

The fastest today, faster than the Mercedes...

It's his first contact with this year's Renault.

He sailed through and obtained the fastest times.

26 thousandths of a second faster than Esteban Ocon.

I repeat, Alonso was faster than Mercedes.

If there's a car in 2021, as it seems there will be,

it'll be war.

When I see the anxiety and stress that my comeback provokes,

as the other drivers know

they've got a tough rival,

I feel very thankful.

I love

finding the slightest detail that can tip the scales in my favour.

As long as it's ethical, of course.

We were in Italy one day

and he said, "Tomorrow, we're going to train with karts."

I said, "Great,

"because I'm free tomorrow."

I asked which circuit it was as I'd not driven in Italy,

and he said, "Jesolo."

As I know that Pedro is diligent

and he checks out every last detail,

I knew he'd memorise the track perfectly.

I searched for a YouTube video with an onboard camera

and sent him a different circuit.

I ran over to Fernando and said, "Be careful, Fernando,

"this circuit is different from the one you told me about."

Fernando began to laugh and took off.

After a few laps, I realised it wasn't the Jesolo circuit either

and Fernando had lied to me.

Fernando wanted me to learn a completely different circuit.

Then he laughed. Obviously it really got to me.

I was laughing so much because at each corner

when there was a right turn, he was confused and thinking,

"This doesn't seem very logical."

Kart number 4 driven by Fernando Alonso Díaz.

If he can do something extra to be at an advantage,

he'll do it.

That's how his mind works,

it's impossible to change.

The next kart is number 12

driven by Ricardo Morán Fernández.

As kids, we spent almost every weekend together.

Later on, we'd go to races together.

We've maintained a good relationship until now

and I consider him

a very good friend.

I'm mainly in charge

of the sports side of the facilities.

We organise races for different championships,

I manage the sports and education side

of the Fernando Alonso Karting School.

We teach kids from a young age

the sport of karting.

That's me getting into the kart, with my dad as the mechanic.

There's Fernando, I'm behind.

He was already trying to mess it up for me.

He won, of course.

Wow!

I look like such a teenager.

If my daughter saw that...

Awesome! That quiff, the waistcoat!

I'm in my own little world, perhaps I'm thinking

about Rick Astley.

They were still roads with gutters,

corners and kerbs,

people crossing in the middle of the street.

I remember in one race, Fernando ran over a dog

and it fell on my kart!

When you're young, you don't evaluate,

you see someone winning and you try to beat them.

But as time goes by, you realise

that the most important thing

is your mindset.

I think that from a young age, Fernando was aware that to win

he had to give 100% the whole time,

including off the track.

And he analysed the races even from an early age.

Perhaps we weren't prepared

psychologically for that.

We competed together from an early age

until he broke through on the international scene

and we fell by the wayside.

I can see you now.

So tell me...

Do you have the helmet there?

We need to start

making choices.

Let's start

with these two options:

the complete replica of 2006

and last year's design.

For the 2006 model, I used a style

closer to the style of the past few years,

with rounder forms.

You could say it's more iconic.

And of those two 2006 models,

left or right, which do you prefer?

I'd choose the first option, the one on the left.

It is based

exactly on the 2006 model

in terms of the colour scheme

but with softer shapes.

I might need to see a frontal view

because with this helmet...

its biggest problem was too much yellow on the front.

So if there's a...

There it is.

If there's a sponsor sticker,

it covers a lot of the yellow part

but if there's no sticker...

- It's a lot of work. - Yes.

Next she'll add the shade.

Does she always do my helmets or can he do them too?

- Or anyone else? - Anyone can do them.

But we try to use one painter, so they are more familiar

with the helmet

and all of its details.

What a delicate job.

- It's you. - This guy?

- It's a model of you. - Seriously?

Yes.

FERNANDO TRAVELS TO THE UAE TO WATCH THE SEASON'S FINAL GP

It's the last Formula One of the season.

Verstappen is going out first

in front of Botas and Hamilton, who is back after Covid.

RENAULT FINISH FIFTH IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

FERNANDO WILL REPLACE DANIEL RICCIARDO,

FIFTH IN THE DRIVER STANDINGS

ALAN PERMANE ALPINE F1 SPORTING DIRECTOR

The plan was that in January

I'd concentrate on physical training

in order to achieve maximum fitness and to be 100% on form

for my return to Formula One.

In February, I would start

physical tests with the car

as well as simulator tests,

team presentations,

photos, videos, everything that comes

with a Formula One preparation and pre-season.

We had an ambitious schedule ahead of us

which kept getting postponed

because of Coronavirus.

Then February 11th happened.

Fernando Alonso has been knocked down this afternoon

while training on a bike in Switzerland.

Alonso is conscious and doing well.

The start of the 2021 season could have been jeopardised

by the accident.

IN THE NEXT EPISODE

I received a text:

I'm fine, don't do anything for now.

It's really hard being far away at times like that.

The time comes when you're at the starting lights

and people expect a lot from me.

Does it hurt?

Well done!