"You forget the camera and you forget yourself", Alonso tells his docu

Fernando Alonso was followed for a year by the cameras of Amazon Prime Video.

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For two years, Fernando Alonso has taken a step back from the world of Formula 1 to devote himself to other types of racing cars and circuits.

From the 500 miles of Indianapolis to the 24 Hours of Le Mans through the Dakar, the Spanish driver has been a jack-of-all-trades and rubbed shoulders with the best in each of these disciplines.

A rare thing for this pilot usually so discreet in the media, he also accepted that cameras follow him on a daily basis in his new life.

As of Wednesday, Amazon Prime Video subscribers will be able to jump into the four-episode miniseries produced throughout 2019 and dive behind the scenes in the life of this exceptional pilot.

And if we only see very few images of his F1 career, it might be for season 2.

Indeed, Alonso has never really managed to turn the page of Formula 1 and, at 39 years old, the double world champion is about to make his comeback under the colors of the French team Renault (future Renault Alpine ).

On the occasion of the release of this documentary series,

was able to converse with the Spaniard and discuss with him the frenzy of docuses on sport which abound on video platforms.

Ya solo quedan dos días para que podáis ver de primera mano cómo ha sido mi vida en los últimos meses.

Sin filtros.

#Fernando, available este viernes 25 de septiembre in @PrimeVideoES 🙏🤞 pic.twitter.com/MOqNsrYgKL

- Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) September 23, 2020

How does it feel to embark on such an adventure when, like you, you're someone who is usually discreet with the media?

It is true that it is not easy at the beginning to have a cameraman and two sound recordists who follow you permanently, to have a microphone open on you all the time.

As a top athlete, we are used to the presence of cameras but it is not at all the same when they enter your privacy, when you are at home with family or friends.

I have to say that they [directors, cameramen, etc] really did everything to be almost invisible.

For example, they put themselves at the end of the terrace where they hid themselves behind the doors so as not to be intrusive and make me manage to live by forgetting that I was being filmed.

And I have to say it works.

You gain confidence in them and on arrival you forget the camera and you forget yourself, you become natural again.

On arrival it was “less worse” than I had imagined (laughs)!

You were reluctant at first.

Why did you finally accept the idea of ​​Amazon?

I found the idea of ​​showing a driver changing categories week after week interesting.

One day I am seen driving a car on the Dakar, the next time we are at the 24h of Le Mans, I think that this variety can make the documentary attractive to spectators.

And then it's great to show everything behind being a pilot, and not just what you usually see on TV when the lights go out.

We can see the preparation of races, the joys but also the sorrows that are part of our daily life.

The goal was really to show the entire life of a pilot without any filter and I'm happy with the result because it corresponds well to what I wanted to show to the public.

What do you think of the boom in sports documentaries that we have been witnessing for a few months now?

It is true that there is a very wide variety of documentaries of this type on the world of sport and it is good because I find that there was a big lack in this in the past.

I love watching this kind of docs.

Afterwards, I was already reading a lot of sports autobiographies (Agassi, Mike Tyson, etc.) so I was obviously attracted to these new formats.

After, quality level, there is really everything.

The best in my opinion are those which give access to scenes that the public is not used to seeing, everything that happens behind the scenes, in private.

But it is a difficult exercise.

Let me take an example: how do you put together an interesting sequence at the 24 Hours of Le Mans if you already know the result of the race?

This is the number 1 challenge for directors of this type of documentary.

Y como no, @alo_oficial que ha demostrado una vez más no tener limits.

Ojalá te veamos en la @ F1 otra vez 😉🙏 pic.twitter.com/3YQITtVYGI

- Iker Casillas (@IkerCasillas) January 17, 2020

You explained to our colleagues from L'Equipe that you did not know what to think of Netflix's “Drive to Survive” series on the world of F1.

Can you tell us why?

For me, the big problem with this series is the lack of naturalness of the drivers and their teams.

We have the impression of seeing classic interviews in front of the cameras, as we see every weekend in F1 in the paddock.

The pilots don't go too far out of the box, they repeat what they usually say in an interview without giving in on what they really feel.

I found it unnatural, at no time did I recognize the pilots as I know them, as they are in reality off camera.

In that, I think our documentary is different.

Already, there is no voiceover, no actual interview in front of a journalist.

It's a bit like me chatting with me (laughs)!

It still helps attract a new audience of laymen, right?

It's true and it's always good to take.

If it can create curiosity around the discipline and get people interested, that's great.

The world of Formula 1 is very particular, very, very closed, everything is kept secret from the point of view of new technologies.

And then it's also a world that leaves very little room for companionship.

This is also one of the reasons why it is difficult to make a series like "Drive to Survive".

But if it can help popularize the discipline, that's great.

Back to the future. # RSspirit pic.twitter.com/julAIjvTvC

- Renault F1 Team (@ RenaultF1Team) September 22, 2020

Let's talk a bit about what you've been through since leaving McLaren.

What have these different experiences brought you as a pilot?

It's always very rewarding to get out of your comfort zone, to confront other worlds.

It obviously teaches you other ways of driving but also other working philosophies.

I think it can only be beneficial for me for my return to F1 next season.

But it is especially on the human level that I have learned a lot, a lot gained.

There is a spirit of camaraderie that does not exist in F1.

To perform at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for example, you have to develop a real bond with the other drivers, you have to have confidence in them and learn to work as a team.

As for the Dakar, it was truly an experience apart.

More than a professional adventure, it was first and foremost a great human experience.

We share everything, there is no question of a five-star hotel or of everything you can know when you drive in F1, comfort level is very basic but it allows you to forge strong bonds with your teammates.

What have you missed the most in F1 over the past two years?

Simply drive the car (laughs)!

And the car itself, its level of sophistication, its mind-blowing speed.

The feeling when you put on your helmet and drive a vehicle of this level of perfection is something incredible.

I missed it a lot!

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