Fernando Alonso talks with Top Gear

What’s it like to be F1 superstar Fernando Alonso? This celeb is too focused on his racing career to think of the perks of being a world-famous F1 driver. A racing prodigy, Fernando Alonso was behind a race kart wheel before he was in school, even winning the “Infants” category in 1988-89. Alonso moved up to Formula 3000 in Y2K with a win at Spa-Francorchamps. By 2001, he was competing for the Formula 1 Minardi Team. To complete his rapid ascent, Alonso started racing for Mild Seven Renault in 2003. That year, in Hungary, he was the youngest driver ever to win in F1 history.

This racing superstar was in Manila recently and Top Gear Philippines’ Women’s Section Editor Pia Boren got some one-on-one time with the F1 driver.

Top Gear: You are the youngest F1 driver to win a Grand Prix. What is your future looking like with F1?

Fernando Alonso: In Formula 1, it’s hard to have a long-term thing but at the moment, I have a two-year contract with my team, Renault, and it’s my first priority to win the races and championships.

TG: If you weren’t racing in F1, what would you be doing?

FA: I do like other sports, and if I had the time, I would probably be cycling or playing soccer. I love all sports.

TG: It started out as a hobby and now it’s a career for you. How do you remind yourself to enjoy, and how do you cope with the pressure?

FA: I think Formula 1 is one of the few sports that remains both your hobby and your job. You have to take all the pressure on your shoulders but, in the meantime, you also enjoy being in the car, and the combination of the two, it’s a great job to do.

TG: How do you find the Philippines?

FA: It’s a nice country. It’s developed. I still have to go to a lot of places but I’m sure it will be okay.

Find out more about F1 superstar Fernando Alonso in the November issue of Top Gear! This month’s issue also features Jeremy Clarkson as he takes a break from worshipping Ferraris and Porsches to get the real deal on British automobiles: MG SV-R, the Noble M400, Lotus Exige, and TVR T350t. We’ll also show you the new Ferrari F430, the Chrysler ME412, the new BMW 3-Series and more exciting cars! Plus, we pit together Nissan’s X-Trail and Mitsubishi’s Outlander. Find out which SUV wins this big test!

Top Gear magazine is published by Summit Media, under license from the British Broadcasting Corporation.