Fernando Alonso has insisted he would not change the sacrifices he has made to find success in Formula 1 despite losing privacy from his life. The Aston Martin driver secured his first victory in the sport at the Hungarian Grand Prix 20 years ago, with the return to Budapest allowing him to reflect on his career so far. Two-time champion Alonso became the then-youngest race winner in F1 and thrust himself into the limelight as the next superstar after Michael Schumacher, during a period that also saw the emergence of Kimi Raikkonen. "It was obviously a magical moment of my life and my career as well, everything changed a little bit after that," Alonso told media including RacingNews365. "It changed especially off-track many things in my life and in Spain as well - there's been no privacy in my life for 20 years. "Obviously, we try to live our dream which is racing in the fastest cars in the world in Formula 1 from a young age and in go-karts. "We dream to be and sit here, but you never put in the balance some of the sacrifices you have to make and some of the changes in your life and your family's life that will happen if you get to Formula 1. "But I would not change anything because it is still your own choice and you try to succeed and follow your dreams but it is probably more difficult than what you see on TV on Sundays. "There are 20-30-40 years of your life that will change forever."
Fernando vs Alonso
Explaining the changes he has experienced between life on and off the track, Alonso added: "When you close the visor on Sunday, you still get the same motivation and the same joy of racing," he said. "So the formation lap, the race start, everything. "The adrenaline of driving these cars and competing against the best drivers and teams in the world and trying to succeed, this is exactly the same as 20 years ago. "I do have more experience on the track, so the way you prepare the race with your engineers, the strategies, the knowledge of the tires and how to prepare the race is different now. "The level of stress is different now as well. "Knowing what will come from in the race, all the different scenarios that may come in the race. There are not too many surprises, let's say in my head or in my race, so that's a little bit different. "But the good thing is that the DNA of competition is still the same, and that's the most fun of the most fun part of our job."
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