Alonso maintains his burning desire to succeed

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Sunday 27th July 2008

Despite a disappointing season back at Renault, Fernando Alonso insists he has not lost his desire to succeed in Formula One.

The Spaniard returned to the team that helped him to win back-to-back World Championships, but they've struggled to match the top three teams this term.

This comes after an equally disappointing campaign at McLaren where his much-publicised run-ins with team-mate Lewis Hamilton and team bosses resulted in him quitting after just one season.

While speculation about his future at Renault continues, the 26-year-old says he wants to remain in the sport for a long time.

"I still love this sport. There are ups and downs. The good moments are hard to forget. I can't get those feelings from anything else in life," he told The Telegraph.

"It is true that two or three years ago I was thinking I would not stay that long in F1 like Michael (Schumacher) did. I started at 19 with Minardi. Back then I was thinking that 19 or 20 years in F1 would be too many. F1 can sap your energy so I was thinking I did not want to lose my life to F1.

"Now my opinion has changed. I'm 26 and thinking, 'why not another 10 or 11 years?' I want more success and I'm ready to spend the time needed to get that success back."

Alonso insists he has no hard feelings about England despite his difficult year at McLaren.

"The McLaren experience didn't change my feelings about England and the people," he said.

"English people are very proud of their country, of being British. This is something I feel with Spain. The character is very similar. Okay the weather was not fantastic. There are some days in England when you feel sad because of the weather.

"I look back at my time in England as a great time."

The 26-year-old has been linked with moves to BMW, Ferrari and Honda in recent weeks, but he insists he is yet to decide where he will drive next year.

"Nothing will be decided until the end of the summer," he said. "Then I will sit down with my advisors and decide what is best for me and Renault. There are many things to consider. Anything is possible."

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