Fernando Alonso looks ahead to the Malaysian Grand Prix – Formula 1
Malaysian Grand Prix will be a testing race for Fernando Alonso.
Alonso will feel confident going into the Malaysian GP even though he finished fifth in the recently concluded Australian Grand Prix.
He said that the team knew that the Australian GP race is going to be a tough ordeal, but the race went well and he was able to score vital points starting the season. The start was the key it was great the way he managed to overtake some of the cars into
a good position to move into the top five.
He said that after the safety Car there was a time when he had to battle it out with Pastor Maldonado. The Spaniard added that he was really worried that he was going to lose out on his position as Maldonado was gaining on him quickly, but when he realised
that he got off track Alonso was very relieved. The Ferrari car was slower than him and although it is sad that he was not able to finish the race it saved his fifth place finish.
Alonso said that for the most part he was defending his position using KERS at few specific points on the track. The pit stop strategy worked out pretty good. He said that another positive sign was that the car felt much better than it did during the qualifiers
on Saturday and he was able to get closer to the leaders of the grid.
“We knew it would be a very complicated race and I am happy I managed to bring home a useful number of points. I got a great start and managed a few passing moves in the early stages and later, after the Safety Car, there was a tough fight with Maldonado:
when I saw he'd gone off the track I breathed a sigh, because he had been really close to me for quite a few laps up until then,” he added.
Alonso though admitted that that car is behind in terms of performance from the likes of McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and even Lotus. He said that but it is not a big worry because all the team are very close to each other, and the competitiveness is high
which is going to be good for Ferrari.
He added that it will still be a big challenge for him as the Sepang circuit is very demanding for the cars and the rubber compounds. Tyre management is going to be integral for any team to be successful there.
Alonso have so far drove well, and exceeded the expectation from a complex Ferrari car, while his teammate Felipe Massa continues to disappoint. Ferrari will need both their driver firing in Malaysia to make a fist of things and fare better than they did
in Australia to remain in contention for the season title win.
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