Fernando Alonso sounds like he wants to join the recent list of Spanish “winners.”
First and foremost — and in order to kick Mark H a bit — there’s Pau Gasol, who was part of the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, for a second consecutive time. Probably bigger on many people’s minds, but still with some unfinished business, is the Spanish World Cup team. And then he notes that Rafeal Nadal just won Wimbledon. Plus there’s some Jorge Lorenzo guy who is tearing up MotoGP.
All are the focus of Alonso’s latest Ferrari diary:
We Spanish are going through a hot time at the moment. Last Saturday, in beating Paraguay, the country’s football team made it to the last four of the World Cup for the first time in sixty years and on Wednesday, we play Germany for a place in the final. I can’t wait to watch this match, in which there is no clear favourite, but that’s as it should be in a semi-final. Anyone who has made it to this stage of the tournament is definitely strong and deserves its place, so it is impossible to say who will have the edge.
[snip]
It really is a great time for Spanish sport. In June, Pau Gasol picked up his second NBA title, yesterday, Rafa Nadal won Wimbledon for the second time, having already come out on top at Roland Garros, while Jorge Lorenzo looks to be flying towards the MotoGP crown.
And now, Alonso says, it is his turn:
Currently, I am in Maranello to spend time with the team prior to the British Grand Prix. It is a crucial moment in the season, with three races coming up in the space of four weeks. We are ready, both on the technical front and physically. In Valencia, we introduced significant updates on the F10 and there will be more in Silverstone and the races after that. The development programme is intensive and I think we will see it produce results. We have also prepared very carefully from the physical point of view, given that the next events are all very close and one needs to be at a hundred percent all the time.
The line-up of teams that really seem intent on the British Grand Prix is not, necessarily, longer than any other. We all know every team constantly is pushing on all fronts. But there does feel like there is an extra focus on this weekend. It should be quite a race.
