F1 News
Date:
9/May/2013
Fernando Alonso arrives at his home Spanish round of the F1
World Championship 20 points further from the title lead than at the same time
last season.
But that doesn’t tell the whole story, with Alonso feeling positive
about the Catalunya weekend for the first time as a Ferrari driver.
Alonso was joint fourth in the standings and trailing
Sebastian Vettel by ten points prior to last year’s opening European round.
The former double World Champion returns to Barcelona again
fourth in the standings, but with a deficit of 30 points to Vettel.
Most of the lost points occurred when Alonso crashed out in
Malaysia and the 31-year-old confirmed things are ‘very different’ to one year
ago.
“Last year we were 1-1.5 seconds behind the top cars. This
year we finished second in Australia, won in China, and we might have won in
Malaysia with more luck,” he explained.
“So it’s a very different feeling and a very different
package that we have this year, which brings us optimism and confidence.
“And Yes. Maybe it is the first time that we arrive here with
a competitive car.
“That doesn’t mean you are certain to fight for top places,
but it’s a weekend that we approach with a positive mentality and maybe not as
a defensive mentality as in my first three years with Ferraris.”
Like all the main teams, Ferrari will have new parts to
evaluate this weekend.
“It’s true that we need to check how the car responds with
some new parts that we brought here. Same with the other teams… I don’t think
the picture at the front will change much.”
Red Bull’s reigning triple Champion Vettel agreed: “I don’t
think there will be a big surprise. Usually everybody makes a step forward and
they’re in the same boat.”
Closest to the young German is currently Lotus driver Kimi
Raikkonen, tens point adrift. However the Finn’s title challenge has been
rocked by the departure of highly regarded Technical Director James Allison.
Allison’s destination is unconfirmed, but a role with one of
the ‘big four’ teams seems certain. Alonso previously worked with Allison when
the Enstone team was funded by Renault, but played down the chance of a reunion
at Ferrari.
“It would be nice to have all of the technical directors in
our team and see how our competitors create their cars - but this is impossible,”
smiled Alonso, when asked if he would like to work with Allison again.
“We are working well and this year things are going much
better so we are happy with what we have but it’s always welcome, any extra
help.
“He [Allison] will chose what he prefers. He may stay at
home. I don’t know. We only heard the news he was leaving yesterday.
“For sure, I worked very closely with him and was World
Champion with him two times. Then I came back to Renault in 2008/9; in 2009 he
was already Technical Director and we were not so successful with that car.
“But we saw the Lotus car in the last two years and no
secret that he’s one of the top men here and we will see what future he has.”
Vettel is the only double race winner so far this year, with
Raikkonen and Alonso claiming one victory apiece.
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