“The only thing that interests me in life is winning”.
The sentence is not only a good catchphrase to launch “Fernando”, the documentary series in five episodes devoted to him by Amazon Prime Video and available since this Friday.
It first defines what Fernando Alonso is.
A champion with an always fierce appetite that drove him to take up a dizzying challenge: to add to his triumphs in the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1 (2006, 2007), successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 500 miles of 'Indianapolis.
At 39 years old and after two victories in the Sarthe (2018, 2019), only a first place on the American Speedway still separates him from the legendary Graham Hill, the only driver in history to hold the famous triple crown.
It was in the 60s and 70s.
Half a century later, the task seems immense, to put it mildly.
Amazon Prime Video
For a year, the cameras of Mediapro, producer of the documentary, therefore followed the Spaniard in his quest for glory and his peregrinations: from Oviedo, the stronghold of the Alonso family, to Indianapolis via his residence on Lake Geneva in Switzerland, Le Mans and the African and Saudi deserts where he discovered the rally-raid, with his first participation in the Dakar in January (13th place).
“The goal was to show how hard it is to change cars at such a competitive level every week.
It is something difficult to perceive from the outside ”, explains to
Figaro
the double world champion of F1 (2005, 2006).
“In rally-raid, I had everything to learn.
Drive with a co-driver (Marc Coma) on new terrain, cross the dunes.
You start to learn and then you jump on a plane to go to Le Mans.
And there, you have to forget everything you did during the week to go on something totally different.
It was a rich year, with successes (victories at Daytona, at Le Mans and world title in endurance) and above all a lot of sacrifices, ”he recalls.
"After a while, we forget the cameras"
Fernando Alonso
Amazon Prime Video
If he admits having initially refused the “pitch” presented by the producers, the idea of showing spectators behind the scenes finally seduced him.
The one who has long had the habit of avoiding the media has agreed to be filmed in his privacy, with his partner (the Italian model Linda Morselli), his family, his friends.
“It's not always easy but after a while you forget the cameras (...) The objective was to show the daily life of a pilot.
What people see are the races on Sunday, the podiums and the interviews.
Not what goes on outside and on the sides.
Those two years away from Formula 1 were ideal for this documentary.
Disciplines such as endurance or rally offer access that F1 does not allow ”.
Or differently, under the prism of story-telling locked by Netflix.
In the five episodes of the documentary series "Fernando", the star is often far from glamor and glitter.
“The life of a Formula 1 driver is much better than that of an endurance or rally-raid driver.
In F1, you have a lot more privileges, everyone is at your disposal.
You stay in five-star hotels, close to the circuits, there are well-defined schedules and a routine that is repeated every week.
There isn't a lot of improvisation.
Outside of F1, the world is very different, more difficult.
On the Dakar, we sometimes play mechanics, we sleep where we can, we wash as best we can.
There isn't even a toilet (laughs).
It is also this different life that I wanted to show in the documentary. ”
Marked by the human adventure of the Dakar
Since "only good results make [his] experiences magical," his failed attempts at the Indianapolis 500, recounted in the documentary, are buried deep enough in the memory box.
On the other hand, his experience on the Dakar really marked him despite a difficult apprenticeship.
“It is not only a professional experience but also a human adventure, with all these amateur pilots driven by passion.
They are never going to win the Dakar, they are only there to participate.
It is a dream for them to be there even with limited means.
This human aspect marked me, ”slips the former Toyota driver.
"90% of the attention is on F1"
Amazon Prime Video
Back in Formula 1 at Renault-Alpine next season, the man with 32 grand prix victories hopes to help shed light on these disciplines, which are often less publicized on a planetary scale.
“The world of motorsport is very large but 90% of the attention is focused on F1.
While curiously, today is the only discipline that is decided in advance and the most boring in quotes because we already know who will win before the race even starts, Fernando Alonso stings.
There is this contradiction in the world of motorsport.
F1 is the best, it captures all the attention.
But the other disciplines are now more spectacular for the fans.
Formula 1 remains the best and always will be.
But I hope the documentary will make people want to turn on the TV on the weekends to watch the WEC or the rally when they have free time.
And I think they will like it ”.
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