Malaysian GP – Alonso Prefers Sepang to Melbourne…

Just a few days ago in Australia, Fernando Alonso, the number 1 driver for the Renault team, managed to take advantage of the numerous twists and turns during the race to score points. The first event of the season and four points collected, making it a satisfactory start for the Spaniard.

Still equipped with the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), the former world champion admits to preferring the Sepang circuit where he has triumphed twice in the past. However, with his team, they will need to improve the performance of the R29 to get closer to the pace of Brawn GP.

Fernando, after a difficult weekend for the team, you are nevertheless happy to have earned four points…

« Indeed, after a mixed weekend, we are satisfied with the result achieved in Melbourne. I lost quite a few places at the start of the race because I had to avoid the accident in the first corner. I then found myself at the back of the pack and had to fight to climb back up. As often happens, the first race of the season was eventful, but we managed to take advantage of the incidents and climb to 5th place. Despite the points scored, we now need to work hard to improve the car’s performance. We remain confident, however. »

Which areas will you focus on for Malaysia?

« We struggled during the qualifying session in Australia and suffered during the race. Therefore, we need to improve in this area to hope to have a good race. We must make the best use of the KERS system, especially at the start of the race on the long straight before the first corner. We also need to learn to use the tires better. In Melbourne, we found that both types of compounds played a decisive role in the car’s performance. This will be very important for Malaysia, where the temperatures are always very high. We will need to tame the tires in these conditions. »

What are your expectations for this Malaysian Grand Prix?

« Sepang is decidedly different from Melbourne, and I think it’s a circuit that will suit us better. It’s probably on the list of my favorite circuits. I’ve won there twice, and I’m always happy to go there. The circuit has a lot of fast corners where it’s truly possible to highlight the performance of a Formula 1 car. Speaking of performance, I hope we achieve better results. We noticed in Melbourne that all the teams are quite close to one another, so we will have to fight to finish in the points. »

According to a press release from the Renault F1 Team