Alonso: “A dream come true”

Fernando, you will have the chance to ride your F1 in the streets of your hometown…
It's going to be great and one of the highlights of the year for me. Driving my F1 in the streets where I grew up, in front of my family, my friends and the people who have always supported me, is a dream come true. After the difficult year we've had, it will be good to do something different and celebrate the magic of Formula 1. I always enjoy taking part in roadshows but this one is really special.

Tell us a little about Oviedo…
It is a small industrial town in northern Spain. The area is beautiful and the surroundings are very green as it often rains. The people are nice and almost all my family and friends still live there. It is therefore a place that is very close to my heart.

What are your first memories of your life in Oviedo?
I remember the time when I went to school. We lived about a kilometer from the establishment and I walked there every morning with my mother or my grandmother. My mother and father both worked. So I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and my sister. I had a very happy childhood. I also remember my school friends, we played football and basketball.

Your family still lives in Oviedo. Do you come back often?
Indeed, my family still lives in Oviedo but outside the city center. I don't come to Oviedo as often as I would like. I live in Switzerland and my schedule, with races and other obligations during the season, is full. I try to come back every two months for four or five days. I always make the most of these moments.

Your father was an amateur kart driver. How did he become interested in karting ?
He had managed to build a kart at home with a few friends. They liked it and started doing some races and registered for the Oviedo championship. My father then built a kart for my sister when she was seven but she didn't like it so he put me in the kart. I was only two years old. I really liked it so it became my kart.

What was this first kart like?
It was very small with lots of extensions so I could get to the pedals. It was red and white and as it was 1984/1985 I believe my father was inspired by the colors of McLaren when he built the kart. We took him to a parking lot where I did laps. The kart was so slow that my father could walk alongside me.

Did your father run with you?
Only once when I was ten or eleven and he managed to beat me! But it was the last race because after beating me he didn't want to do any more!

Was it difficult to follow Formula 1 in Spain when you were young?
It was very difficult and I only really started following Formula 1 when I was sixteen or seventeen. The races were not broadcast live when I was young and we did not have the internet like today. So I was watching football on television? the Spanish league? it was my main distraction.