Alonso wants to replicate his performance from Singapore 2010

As the grand circus of Formula One took off for Singapore, for its traditional end-of-season Asian tour, Fernando Alonso, who has only one victory to his name this season, will return to the streets of Marina Bay with a certain enthusiasm since he boasts, setting aside any controversy, the best statistics of all the drivers involved: « Singapore is a special event for me. It’s one of the races I love the most for its lively atmosphere and the characteristics of the circuit. It undoubtedly has a lot in common with Monaco, but the fact of racing at night, combined with the length of the track compared to that of the Principality, makes this Grand Prix unique » confides the double world champion in his blog, on the Scuderia’s website.

For the record, the Spaniard finished in second place during the last Monaco and European Grand Prix, also held on street circuits, an encouraging sign according to him: « In Monaco, we were certainly not far from victory, and without the final red flag, I think we would have had an excellent opportunity to overtake Sebastian. But it is also true that you cannot always ensure that things will go the same way. What is certain is that we will give it everything, I think we have chances to do well as long as we make the most of every aspect: the tires, the settings, the engine, the team work, everything must be at 100%. »

Ferrari will also have an advantage in Singapore as Pirelli will offer teams its softest tires, with red and yellow sidewalls, tires that the Scuderia couldn’t have chosen better: « Of course, if we were allowed to choose our tires, this combination is what we would have wanted, but the tires themselves can’t make all the difference » explains Felipe Massa, however.

But Fernando Alonso still hopes to achieve a third win on the streets of the small city-state: « I have always managed to get on the podium in the previous three editions, and my goal is to do it a fourth time. A third victory to go with the one in 2008 and last year’s would be clearly fantastic, but I know it will be very difficult. […] Last year, a great victory concluded an extraordinary weekend. There was a long – almost two-hour – duel between Sebastian and me, where I had the image of his car in my mirrors almost permanently. Winning a race like that is thrilling and produces very strong emotions. »

Emotions, however, were felt by the native of Oviedo during the last Italian Grand Prix in Monza, where, starting 4th, he seized the first place right under Vettel’s nose before having to succumb to the German’s assaults a few laps later: « We didn’t get the victory we hoped for at Monza, but we were on the podium: what an emotion to stand again, wearing the red suit and hearing the tifosi shout my name! It was an opportunity to surpass an important statistic of 1,000 points. Now, I have 1,001 points, only Michael Schumacher has more [editor’s note: 1493 after Monza]. Of course, since the new points system was introduced, progress in this ranking is faster than before, but seeing four digits next to my name gives me great pleasure. »