“I didn’t have a transparent roadmap into my profession. I didn’t know precisely what was the subsequent race, what might be my subsequent group. I used to be improvising [and] each weekend was a brand new journey.
“What I’d say is that once I gained the championship in 2006 after which I joined McLaren, I had a three-year contract for 2007, ’08 and ’09, and I used to be 99% positive that 2009 could be my final F1 season. That was my very clear plan in my head.”
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He continued: “After I signed that contract, in my head at the moment, it was like a long-term contract and three years will really feel possibly lengthy, however that is the final. I already fulfilled my dream. That is past my wildest creativeness to be an F1 champion, so what else can I do right here?
“I signed this contract with McLaren, hoped to win extra championships, hoped to win extra races, however after F1 there’s a completely different life outdoors. I used to be considering I’ll have a household, I’ll do regular issues, regular days.
“I don’t suppose that the 19-year-old, Minardi 2001 Fernando will suppose one thing unusual concerning the 400 Grands Prix, as a result of I used to be not considering an excessive amount of sooner or later, however in 2007, for positive, this might be a shock.”
