Fernando Alonso in the skin of the hunter, not the prey
With seven Grand Prix remaining and Fernando Alonso holding nearly a 40-point lead over his closest rivals, the Spaniard does not intend to just play defensively. He wants to assume the role of the hunter with the aim of securing three more victories, possibly starting with Singapore.
Since his victory at the European Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has remained at the top of the Formula One World Championship, even seeing his lead reach up to 40 points after the Hungarian round.
Backed by three victories, the Spaniard has a total of 7 podiums out of 12 finishes in the points. Only Kimi Räikkönen has made it into the Top 10 as many times as he has, while Mark Webber entered it only 11 times and both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton only 10 times. The Asturian also leads significantly in terms of laps (216) and kilometers (1,101) spent at the front of a Grand Prix.
And yet, Fernando Alonso does not intend to approach the final rush defensively, as prey: « I must approach the seven remaining races as the hunter and not as the championship leader, because there’s still 175 points to be won and a 37-point lead is nothing, » declares the Spaniard in the columns of Marca. For the native of Oviedo, the goal will be to attack in order to widen the gap: « We must try to win the next three races. Like the others, we will bring new parts [but] everything can change in one race. My only goal in Singapore is to win. I must flirt with perfection until the end. »
However, even though it’s true that a 37-point gap seems small considering the number of races left in this 2012 World Championship season, it’s still important to remember that the Spaniard is facing multiple competitors. Thus, the Ferrari driver recently shared that at each Grand Prix, his goal was to outpace his closest rival, but this rival changes from race to race: after Mark Webber in Belgium and Sebastian Vettel in Italy, the Asturian announced that he would keep an eye on Lewis Hamilton during the Singapore Grand Prix.
This is why the Spaniard prefers not to rule out any of his rivals, while Hamilton, Räikkönen, and Vettel are all within 40 points: “If I had to choose between Hamilton and Vettel, I would choose Räikkönen,” he jokes. But the one he probably fears the most remains the Briton: “Hamilton is the only one capable of winning without having the best car whereas the others win only when they have a good car.”
That said, Fernando Alonso knows he holds the best position: « The rivals will change by the end of the championship because it’s very close behind. It’s easier when you’re ahead of the others. I am more relaxed than I was last year. »
