Fernando Alonso: I can cope with F1 and WEC schedule
FERNANDO ALONSO insists he is ready for his challenging 2018 schedule, with the start of the new F1 season just over a week away.
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The Spaniard will once again race for McLaren in F1, starting with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 25.
But added to the 21 races he has planned for McLaren, the 36-year-old will also race for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship super season.
That means Alonso faces a difficult 25-race programme including the Le Mans 24 Hours, as he looks to become just the second man to claim motorsport’s famed ’Triple Crown’.
The challenge involves winning the Indy 500, Le Mans 24 hours and the Monaco Grand Prix - with some also determining the F1 leg to mean winning the Formula One Drivers’ Championship.
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I think in terms of mental approach it’s going to be not an issue because every time you jump in the car you want to be competitive. Physically, while driving it’s going to be OK.
Graham Hill is the only man to win all three, having done so in 1972.
Two-time world champion Alonso competed in the Daytona 24 hours in January as well as racing in last year’s Indy 500.
He makes his WEC debut at Spa on May 5 and will compete in four events, only missing the Fuji round on October 20-21 due to a clash with the United States Grand Prix.
Yet Alonso has few qualms about such a challenging schedule despite his age.
“The only concern is travelling,” he said at F1’s pre-season testing last week.
“Travelling is going to be energy-consuming and I need to be very efficient on that.
“Every delay on the flight or every connection that you miss is going to hurt this year. So hopefully everything runs smoothly.
“There are many things that I am now in the point of my career that I can deal with. Probably a couple of years ago maybe I didn’t have the knowledge of all of the areas.
“So I thought now was the time to do it and I feel ready.
“I think in terms of mental approach it’s going to be not an issue because every time you jump in the car you want to be competitive.
“Physically, while driving it’s going to be OK.”
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McLaren’s executive director Zak Brown also played down concerns that Alonso is giving himself too testing a schedule.
He said: “What a lot people don’t know is he’s karting every weekend.
“If he wasn’t going to be in a prototype, he would have been in a kart or something else.
“I’ve never seen someone who wants to literally live in a race car like he does.
“His responsibilities there [with Toyota] are pretty much driving, so he’s not going to have the same level of promotional work, sponsor commitments that would normally come along with it.
“And he’s well studied and focused on what preparation takes. If he thinks he can do it, we have no reason to believe that he can’t.”
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Fernando Alonso’s full 2018 schedule
March 25 - Australian Grand Prix
April 8 - Bahrain Grand Prix
April 15 - Chinese Grand Prix
April 29 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix
May 5 - WEC Spa
May 13 - Spanish Grand Prix
May 27 - Monaco Grand Prix
June 10 - Canadian Grand Prix
June 16-17 - Le Mans 24 Hours
June 24 - French Grand Prix
July 1 - Austrian Grand Prix
July 8 - British Grand Prix
July 22 - German Grand Prix
July 29 - Hungarian Grand Prix
August 19 - WEC Silverstone
August 26 - Belgian Grand Prix
September 2 - Italian Grand Prix
September 16 - Singapore Grand Prix
September 30 - Russian Grand Prix
October 7 - Japanese Grand Prix
October 21 - United States Grand Prix
October 28 - Mexican Grand Prix
November 11 - Brazilian Grand Prix
November 18 - WEC Shanghai
November 25 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix