Fernando Alonso brushes aside his 2010 disappointment to top the Pirelli test
2010 runner-up Fernando Alonso showed his characteristic resilience when he topped the Pirelli test just days after losing the championship to Sebastian Vettel. The Spaniard returned to the circuit for the first time after losing
the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix a week ago.
Two-time World Champion Alonso showed no signs of a hangover as he went through a total of 105 laps in the last few days, during which he posted a time of 1:40.529 – a third of the time set by his team-mate Felipe Massa. Commenting
on his performance, the Ferrari driver said, “Overall, I am quite happy with the behaviour of the tyres. They are not too different to the previous manufacturer [Bridgestone] so in a way I think it will be a very smooth transition with no big drama.”
Michael Schumacher also put his dismal 2010 season behind him, coming in second behind Alonso. The seven-time World Champion struggled agonizingly throughout the recently concluded season. His future with Mercedes also came into
question, but the rumours were put to rest by the top management, who gave him another go for 2011 season. Schumacher showed a markedly improved performance as he posted the second-fastest time, only 0.156 seconds short of Alonso’s time. His performance also
substantiated his claim of an improved performance with the Pirelli tyres. Commenting on his performance, Schumacher said, “For the first step, from what we have seen here, I feel positive about the tyres.”
New F1 champion Sebastian Vettel came in third despite suffering tyre failure twice consecutively. Rubens Barrichello finished in fourth, ahead of Renault’s Robert Kubica and the McLaren pair of Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey.
Regarding results, Kubica said, “It has been quite a productive day and it's good to complete so many laps on the new tyres. Like yesterday we ran with both compounds and collected a lot of data, which will be useful for us and for Pirelli as well. Overall
it has been a positive couple of days.”
Meanwhile, Sir Frank Williams has openly given his support to Qatar for holding the Formula One Grand Prix in the future. If the FIA decides to allot Qatar a slot in the F1 calendar then it will be the third Middle Eastern country
to host the F1 Grand Prix. Currently, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi are holding the first and last race of the season respectively. Williams is currently associated with Qatar to build a technology centre there and is hopeful that the country will soon get a place
in the F1 itinerary. He said, “I would love to see a race in Qatar because of our involvement here. In my humble opinion, the Losail circuit is admirably suited for an F1 race. I would love to see more races, but I don't think we could ever have more than
22 without compromising the preparations and driver safety.” The Losail venue is currently host to MotoGP's season-opener and fulfils all the prerequisites for hosting an F1 event. The 2011 calendar will be featuring 20 races, including the debutant Indian
Grand Prix and the Russian and US Grand Prix also in the pipeline. In coming years, the F1 calendar is expected to expand further.
Meanwhile, organizers of the Italian Grand Prix have expressed their reservations to take the Italian Grand Prix to Rome from the famous and historic Monza circuit. Expressing his views regarding the matter, Monza boss Enrico Ferrari
said, “Amid a globalisation of grand prix(s), each country will inevitably be allowed to stage only one and since Rome is the capital, I'm afraid we'd lose the grand prix forever.” On the other hand, F1 chief executive Ecclestone asserts that there is no deal
yet and therefore there is no need to worry. He said, “We haven't got a contract yet for the event. As soon as they get that, we can have a race, then let's see if we can make it happen. We have two events at the moment in Spain.”
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