Ferꦛnando Alonso says he prefers the more restricted nature of the Formula 1 paddock compared to the greater freedom offered to fans in the World Endurance Championship, having꧋ found it “stressful” at times during his Spa race weekend.

Two-time F1 world champion Alo🉐nso made his WEC debut at Spa last Saturday, winning for Toyota from pole position at the first attempt alongside Sebastien Buemi a🉐nd Kazuki Nakajima.

Whereas the F1 paddock is not accessible for fans, WEC operates an open-paddock policy, ꦫleaving only the team hospitality units, motorhomes and garages off-limits.

Alonso joked at Spa about the ways fans were flocking to try and catch a glimpse of him, saying: “Every time I go to the bathroom, it’s interesting. To go in with 40 or 50 people, apparently at 💎that moment theꦜy all needed to go for a pee!”

Alonso returned to the F1 paddock on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, and said that he preferred the more closed-off nature as it made i๊t less stressful for drivers to manage.

“I think I prefer this syste♈m in F1. It’s a little bit more under control, the paddock passes,” Alonso said.

“In WEC, especially until Saturday, with free access to the paddock, it was a little bit too much, a little bit st🙈ressful a couple oꦦf times.

“I think 💞here is quite under control. I think if you open free entrance to the paddock here, we wold not even be able to walk, and we would hide even more.

"We will close 🌺ourselves even more in our motorhomes and things like that because you cannot do normal things. Then it will probably not be in the d🌸irection we want.

“We want to open the paddock and like these fans, they see the drivers and they can communicate a little bit more. M🌜aybe it has the opposite reaction.

“So I think it’s good as it is and I think every champi🧸onship has its own philosophy and I think it’s working quite OK for each category.

“I think it’s good as it is.”