Alonso assures that he would leave F1 with his head held high

If I don’t win any more championships, I would leave Formula One with my head held high. At least, I’ve already won titles while others will leave without having won a single race; such is the confidence shared by Fernando Alonso to Marca Sports, at a promotional event held at the Spanish circuit of Jarama, by Santander, the main sponsor of Ferrari.

Indeed, given the mixed results of the Scuderia’s tests, fans are worried about the prospect that the native of Asturias might end up empty-handed for the sixth consecutive year at the end of the season. However, the double Spanish world champion seeks to reassure on this point: « There has been a tendency, especially from the media, to say that the car is bad, that we are having poor winter tests, but they misunderstood. We are very calm because the car is very complex, and there is no reason to believe it won’t be fast. What costs us all is regaining the lost grip at the rear of the car following the ban on blown diffusers, but I think we will find it quickly. »

In Barcelona, the F2012 was better than it was in Jerez and it will be better this week and even better in Melbourne. There is still a lot of work to do, but there is no reason why we shouldn’t be ready for the first race. It’s true that there are only four test days left and we will also have to make use of Friday’s tests during the Grand Prix to continue our development, but the car is quite complex and requires time, as was the case during the first eight days of testing, affirmed the Ferrari driver in front of the media gathered at Jarama.

The Spaniard also insists that it is impossible to draw conclusions from the tests: « It is assumed that Red Bull won’t get stuck in Q2 and that McLaren and Mercedes won’t be too far behind, but these are just assumptions. […] It is definitely too early to say where we stand compared to the others. Red Bull is very strong. As for us, it would be helpful to start well because it takes the pressure off the team, but if we don’t show enough competitiveness to immediately compete for the win, then it will be important that the same person doesn’t win each time. […] In 2011, the difference in performance between Red Bull and us wasn’t greater than it was in 2010, and yet, two years ago, we were leading the championship at the last race, whereas last year we were barely fighting for the title » explains Fernando Alonso.

For the Spaniard, it will probably be necessary to wait until the Chinese Grand Prix to get a true idea of the state of play: « The Australian Grand Prix is a strange race because the circuit is different, so we will only start to see clearly from the third race », reckons the Ferrari driver.