Fernando Alonso ready for difficult part of the season
He is the driver with the momentum at the moment, but Fernando Alonso is bracing himself for “pain” in the last four races of this year’s Formula One world championship.
Victorious in three of the last five races, including back-to-back wins in Monza and under the night skies in Singapore, Alonso has got himself back into the fight when he looked out of it, and trails championship leader Mark Webber of Red Bull by 11 points.
With everything going well at the moment, the Spaniard is preparing for possible pitfalls the championship might throw at Ferrari. “I have kept in touch with the team all the time and I know that in Maranello, everyone is delighted with [the Singapore] win,” said Alonso.
“That's how it should be and I'm happy too, even if I know the hard part is still ahead of us. These two consecutive wins have reduced the gap that had built up but we are definitely not leading yet. Now it starts getting serious, we will have to experience some pain and it is time for everyone to give their all, without taking a single backward step,” he added.
Winner of the world title in 2005 and 2006 for Renault, Alonso knows what it takes to win the championship. Webber is the favourite to become world champion at the end of the season, but the likes of Lewis Hamilton, reigning champion Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel still have a chance, with only 25 points separating the top five.
“There are still five drivers in the hunt for the title. So many times this year we have seen that the situation can change really quickly, so anything could still happen. What is certain is that if any of the five put a foot wrong, then it will be even harder for them. I stick with my belief that the key is to always finish on the podium and then do the maths in Abu Dhabi [final race],” said Alonso.
Red Bull have been the fastest team all season, but Ferrari have shown they can match their speed and even go faster than them, with the Italian Grand Prix- the fastest on the calendar - and Singapore -the slowest - highlighting this. “The wins in Monza and Singapore inspire confidence, especially as they came after a difficult season, in which our championship chances have often hung by a thread,” he said.
“Winning on two very different types of track confirms that our car is very versatile and so we can tackle the coming races without any fear,” Alonso added.
He has shown the qualities in the past to beat the best, and who can stop Alonso from making it three world titles?
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