Fernando Alonso: F1 races ‘more emotional’ since announcing retirement

Now that his Formula One career is coming to an end, Fernando Alonso admits he’s starting to get a little sentimental.

The 37-year-old Spaniard announced in August he was leaving F1 after 17 years in the sport.

And with the clock ticking to the season’s last race in Abu Dhabi on 25 November, Alonso is trying to savor every moment.

“I’ve found myself recording the parade laps in the last couple of races with my phone,” the double world champion tells CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies.

“I’ve never done that in my life, but now it’s like I want to record everything.”

“I want to have that last memory of each race.”

Alonso won two world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006 and has amassed 32 wins, 22 pole positions and 97 podiums so far in his illustrious career.

Letting go of the sport is proving difficult.

“From August, when I decided to announce the retirement, every single race has been a little more emotional than normal,” he says.

“Every driver’s parade, every fan session has been a little bit different … it gets even more difficult.”

READ: Carlos Sainz to replace Fernando Alonso at McLaren

Fernando Alonso on the podium of Formula One's Malaysian Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso made his F1 debut for Minardi in 2001 before joining Renault as a test driver in 2002.

The Spaniard’s 2005 title ended Michael Schumacher’s five-year reign and made him then the youngest world champion in F1 history at the age of 24 years and 59 days. He retained his title the following year.

Alonso endured a tumultuous and often acrimonious season alongside Lewis Hamilton at McLaren in 2007 before a brief return to Renault followed by a four-year stint with Ferrari from 2010. He joined McLaren in 2015.

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Lewis Hamilton sprays second-placed Sebastian Vettel with champagne after winning the Abu Dhabi season-ending race, 11th of his title winning season.

Lewis Hamilton celebrates his 10th win of the season as he takes the Brazilian GP ahead of Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen.

Lewis Hamilton savors the moment after clinching his fifth F1 world title with fourth place behind Max Verstappen in the Mexican Grand Prix.

Race winner Kimi Raikkonen is flanked by second-placed Max Verstappen (far left) and Lewis Hamilton, who finished third after a thrilling US Grand Prix. Hamilton increased his title lead to 70 points over Sebastian Vettel ahead of the final three rounds of the championship.

Race winner Lewis Hamilton had plenty to celebrate after claiming victory in the Japanese GP at Suzuka to lead the world championship by 67 points with four rounds remaining.

Lewis Hamilton (no 44) overtook fellow Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas under team orders on his way to a decisive victory in the 2018 F1 title race as he extended his advantage over Sebastian Vettel to 50 points.

Lewis Hamilton led from pole position in his famous No.44 Mercedes and took his seventh victory of the season on the Marina Bay street circuit in Singapore.

Hamilton stormed to a record-equalling fifth Italian Grand Prix victory -- overtaking both Ferraris in the process.

Lewis Hamilton celebrates with the trophy on the podium after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring near Budapest to extend his title lead over Sebastian Vettel to 24 points.

Hamilton celebrates an extraordinary comeback win at the German Grand Prix to give him a 17-point championship lead as title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out

Dutch driver Max Verstappen claims a dramatic victory at the home of Red Bull Racing. But how does that impact the Drivers' Championship?

Melbourne, Australia -- 'Lucky' Vettel wins season opener —

Sebastian Vettel took full advantage of a bizarre incident involving both cars of the American-owned Haas team to claim the opening race of the 2018 Formula One season in Australia.

Drivers' title race after round 1 —

Vettel -- 25 points
Hamilton -- 18 points
Raikonnen -- 15 points

Sakhir, Bahrain -- Ferrari win soured by injured mechanic —

Vettel won for the second time in as many races at the Bahrain Grand Prix. But the Italian team's victory was overshadowed after one of its mechanics suffered a broken leg when he was hit by Kimi Raikkonen's car during a pit stop.

Drivers' title race after round 2 —

Vettel -- 50 points
Hamilton -- 33 points
Bottas -- 22 points

Shanghai, China —

An inspired Daniel Ricciardo claimed a remarkable and unexpected victory from sixth on the grid after a tactical masterstroke by his Red Bull team in Shanghai, with furious championship leader Vettel back in eighth place.

Drivers' title race after round 3 —

Vettel -- 54 points
Hamilton -- 45 points
Bottas -- 40 points

Baku, Azerbaijan -- Red Bull drivers shockingly crash as Hamilton triumphs —

Lewis Hamilton was the chief beneficiary of a late puncture suffered by his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas as he clinched his first win of the season at April's action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Drivers' title race after round 4 —

Hamilton -- 70 points
Vettel -- 66 points
Raikkonen -- 48 points

Barcelona, Spain -- Lewis Hamilton leads Mercedes one-two —

After his unlikely victory in Azerbaijan, it was a second straight win for Hamilton as he bids for a fifth world championship -- and it could not have been more comfortable.

Drivers' title race after round 5 —

Hamilton -- 95 points
Vettel -- 78 points
Bottas -- 57 points

Monaco -- Redemption for Ricciardo —

Ricciardo nursed his ailing Red Bull to a remarkable victory on the streets of Monte Carlo and with it made up for his 2016 heartbreak on the same circuit.

Drivers' title race after round 6 —

Hamilton -- 110 points
Vettel -- 96 points
Ricciardo -- 72 points

Canada -- Vettel wins to take title initiative —

Sebastian Vettel's 50th career victory saw him replace Lewis Hamilton at the top of the championship standings to cap an emotional day for the Ferrari team.

Drivers' title race after round 7 —

Vettel -- 121 points
Hamilton -- 120 points
Bottas -- 86 points

France -- Hamilton back in the groove —

Briton Lewis Hamilton won the first French Grand Prix since 2008.
The Mercedes driver avoided the worst of a dramatic start that saw title rival Sebastian Vettel clip Valtteri Bottas. Both drivers sustained damage in the collision, forcing them to pit early them and fall to the back of the grid.

Drivers' title race after round 8 —

Hamilton -- 145 points
Vettel -- 131 points
Ricciardo -- 96 points

Austria -- Verstappen wins after Mercedes meltdown —

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a dramatic Austrian Grand Prix as hitherto championship leader Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, were forced to retire.

Drivers' title race after round 9 —

Vettel - 146 points
Hamilton - 145 points
Raikkonen - 101 points

Britain -- Vettel wins despite Hamilton fightback —

Home favorite Lewis Hamilton was denied a sixth victory at the British Grand Prix as Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took control of the championship at Silverstone

Drivers' title race after round 10 —

Vettel - 171Hamilton - 163Raikkonen - 116

Germany -- Advantage Hamilton as Vettel crashes out —

Hamilton fought back from 14th on the grid to claim an astonishing victory as Vettel crashed out at Hockenheim.

Drivers' title race after round 11 —

Hamilton - 188
Vettel - 171
Raikkonen - 131

Hungary -- Hamilton extends title lead with 'beautiful' win —

Hamilton went into F1's summer break with a season-high 24-point advantage in the title race over Vettel after winning at the Hungaroring.

Drivers' title race after round 11 —

Hamilton -- 213 points
Vettel -- 189 points
Raikkonen -- 146 points

Belgium -- Vettel wins after spectacular crash —

Fernando Alonso's car was launched over the top of Charles Leclerc on the opening corner of the Belgian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel went on to win at Spa to cut Lewis Hamilton's lead at the top of the Driver Standings to 17 points.

Drivers' title race after round 12 —

Hamilton -- 231Vettel -- 214Raikkonen - 146

Ferrari's sea of fans -- the 'Tifosi' -- hold up a flag making fun of Lewis Hamilton, but he has the last laugh, winning the Italian Grand Prix for the fifth time

The story of the 2018 F1 season so far

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Alonso’s focus is now on capturing motor sport’s fabled “Triple Crown” of victories at the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and the Indianapolis 500.

He’s won in Monaco in both 2006 and 2007, while he was part of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s victorious team at Le Mans earlier this year. An attempt to win the 2017 Indy 500 finished with just 21 of the 200 laps remaining.

“I achieved much more than what I dreamed of when I started,” says Alonso. “I think it’s the right time now because there are some other challenges out of Formula One that I’m very, very interested in now.

“My idea is to win all the iconic motor sport races in the world.”

‘Everything in life is a competition’

Indeed, winning is the thing Alonso loves more than anything.

“Winning is everything,” he says.

“Not only (in) sport, but in life. In life, it’s winning – when I go to the supermarket and I go with a friend, I try to get through the door first.

“Things like that, everything in life is a competition for me.”

Alonso won his last F1 grand prix in Spain while driving for Ferrari in 2013, but despite a lack of success with McLaren he says the team is on the right track.

“I still believe that McLaren is one of the best teams in history of the sport, and they will get better eventually in a couple of years time,” he says.

He added: “I miss winning. I miss being on the podium.”

READ: Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes turn 2018 F1 season into victory procession

READ: Formula One’s ‘halo’ device proves worth at Belgian Grand Prix

Alonso poses with fans for selfies before the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix in 2017.

For now, though, Alonso wants to concentrate on coming up with a new schedule and getting some rest.

“I want to live a normal life that I never had the opportunity to do for many years,” he says.

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“But, I am a guy that normally wants to program everything in advance, so I don’t want to wait too long until I know the 2019 plans.”