Alonso thinks he will have a hard time being as perfect as in 2012
The Spanish driver Fernando Alonso had what he calls a perfect season in 2012. His defeat in the title race during the last Grand Prix does not tarnish a performance he considers difficult to replicate in his career. For the 2013 season, the driver and his team, Ferrari, absolutely must start the season in the best possible way.
Fernando Alonso believes he had a perfect season in 2012. Even though he lost the title to Sebastian Vettel by only three points, the Spanish driver thinks he gave his maximum and even doubts he can replicate the same performances next season.
He spoke about it during a promotional event in Madrid for his sponsor Santander: « You just feel that, some years, you’ve done a good job and others, where you feel something was missing or there is something you would have liked to change or improve for the next year. I think it has been a perfect year. It’s going to be almost impossible to repeat that in my career. »
At the beginning of 2012, Ferrari was clearly behind its direct competitors. But thanks to the grit and talent of Fernando Alonso, the team was able to contend for the title until the last race.
For 2013, the Spanish driver believes it would be inconceivable for Ferrari to have the same start to the season. Especially since Red Bull will still be very strong and remain the team to beat. A bad start would be impossible. We were about 2.5 seconds off the pace in the Jerez tests when the car made its debut; it’s almost impossible for it to be worse, so I expect a better start. But there is no doubt that Red Bull will be the favorite. They finished the season with quite a strong domination and the regulations aren’t going to change. They had a seven or eight-tenths advantage over us, and we need to close that gap in two months, which is not easy. There will be a lot of work, but our start to the season will be much better than last year, which is not difficult.
The double world champion of 2005 and 2006 hopes that Ferrari will become the team to beat in 2013: « I hope so. It’s the goal of every team to be first and second on Saturday and Sunday. There are a few teams that have achieved that recently. McLaren has done it a few times. Red Bull has done it over the past few years. Even Lotus, at certain times, had both their drivers on the podium. We haven’t been able to do the job properly regarding the car’s performance, and that’s one of the goals for next year. But it was also this year’s goal and we didn’t achieve it. Next year, we will try to get there. »
