FERNANDO Alonso once compared driving for McLaren to playing for Real Madrid.
Although his stint with them is over - he is now back with his former team Renault - Alonso still loves his football.
'If I were a footballer, I would like to play for Real Madrid, the team I support and love,' he declared in an interview.
Coming from Alonso, such blatant enthusiasm is pretty unusual.
After all, the 27-year-old is known to be the enigmatic sort, often avoiding the media spotlight.
'When I'm watching football, it's very different,' he told The Guardian.
'But in the race car, I am calm because they pay me to do this and I have to be professional.'
Simple words from a simple man.
Born Fernando Alonso Diaz in Oviedo, northern Spain, Alonso's father was a mechanic while his mother worked at a department store.
'My parents are responsible for the two things I like doing most - driving and magic tricks. They bought me my first go-kart and a magician's kit,' he said.
Although the go-kart was meant for his 8-year-old sister, it piqued Alonso's interest and he was soon taking part in karting competitions around Spain.
When it comes to poker, Alonso also knows a trick or two about winning and enjoys playing it with fellow racers Robert Kubica and Rubens Barrichello when they aren't racing.
Good friends
Kubica's laidback persona - similar to Alonso's - has made them good friends off the track.
'F1 is normal. It doesn't mean anything special to me. It's my job, like waiting in a restaurant or working as a bank clerk,' Alonso explained in the Formula One book, The Pits.
Indeed, life for the Spaniard is as normal as can be.
He makes his own dinner, cycles and frequently goes to the cinema.
Married to Spanish pop singer Raquel del Rosario, Alonso calls Oxford his home where he's least likely to be recognised.
'I prefer it. It's like going to paradise. I can live my life. It's much more relaxed and perfect between races.'
In contrast, Alonso's achievements, especially his back-to-back drivers' championship titles in 2005 and 2006, saw him become a target of the paparazzi in Spain.
But the group of people he doesn't mind being around are his engineers.
'You go around the factory to say hello to all the people because these guys will work until two in the morning to prepare the new pieces for the next race.
'If you are not friendly with your team, you are alone.'
For now, though, Alonso wants to take it easy and handle one day at a time.
'I'm not too stressed now just because I'm in Formula One. For me, tomorrow will be another day whether I finish first or last.'
This article was first published in The New Paper on Sept 23, 2008.
