Great season start for the World ChampionFernando Alonso took the victory in the first Grand Prix of the 2006 season in Bahrain, a great way to defend his 2005 title.
Fernando, how was your race?
“I made a good start, and it was important for me to make up some positions. I was third at the first corner, then I passed Massa and crossed the line second. We knew Schumacher would be quicker on the first stint because we had more fuel, so I had to be patient and attack at the right point. Thanks to the fantastic work of the mechanics at the second stop, we did it!”
Did you attack all race long?
“Not really. I was quite cautious at the beginning of the stints, so I could look after the tyres and push hard in the later laps. The strategy worked: it allowed me to catch Schumacher before the final stop, and come out ahead of him. In the third stint, I was pretty relaxed. The performance of the two cars was similar and Michael couldn’t have got past me.
”
Felipe Massa nearly hit you when he went off early on…
“I know! He made a mistake and I was lucky: he could easily have hit me, and that would have been the end of my race.”
It’s a good start to the season for you, isn’t it?
“For sure! Four teams are competitive at the moment: Renault, Ferrari, McLaren and Honda. We got the best start, and the best way of starting 2006. What could be better? One thing’s for sure. This will be a very, very interesting for all fans of Formula 1.”
Tags:
grand-prix,
