Fernando Alonso is refusing to dwell on the fact it has been 10 years since he last won the Formula One championship, saying the anniversary is "just a number".
Saturday marks ten years since the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, where Alonso finished second to beat Michael Schumacher to his second championship for Renault. Alonso then moved to McLaren in 2007, missing out on a third straight world title by one point, before further near-misses for Ferrari in 2010 and 2012.
Alonso switched to McLaren in 2015 but has endured two frustrating years away from the front end of the grid, though recent progress has led to encouragement the team can capitalise on next year's big regulation changes. When asked about the anniversary in Austin, Alonso insisted his mind has been elsewhere.
"People keep telling me it's the 10th anniversary of my second title but it's not something I'm thinking about," he said. "We're so involved in what you're doing that you don't think about anything else. But when you see the photos of that day of course you feel happy and proud, but mainly with a lot of motivation to live something like that again."
Alonso says the timeframe is irrelevant because his only focus is on being the best again in the future.
"It doesn't really matter it's ten years. It could be five, seven or 12, it's just a number, but what you want is to get closer to your goal that, in Formula One, has to be the goal to be the best.
"If you're playing a tennis match you also want to be the best, but I'm competing here, in Formula One, and that's what I'm trying to be -- the best and that means being world champion. Right now we're far from that goal, because we're not too competitive, but hopefully next year we'll get closer to that goal."