Fernando Alonso thinks Lewis Hamilton is favourite for 2012 F1 championship – Formula 1 news
Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has deemed Lewis Hamilton of McLaren favourite for 2012 Formula 1 world championship.
“In Monaco, traditionally, the first three drivers on the grid have a chance of winning,” Alonso said. “But we are looking further ahead. We are looking to November and it is Hamilton we want to be close to.”
Even though, the Spaniard is currently leading the drivers’ championship with 76 points and is 3 points ahead of Red Bull Racing pair of drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. However, he thinks that Hamilton is one of the most competitive drivers in
this year’s title fight.
The 2008 world champion is presently at fourth place in the drivers’ rankings with 63 points. Moreover, he is 4 points ahead of Nico Rosberg of Mercedes AMG and 10 points behind Webber.
Furthermore, he has emerged as one of the most consistent drivers in the season so far as he secured third podium finish in the first three grands prix.
Conversely, although he qualified for the second and third grid positions in the fourth and sixth race but he could only secure 8th and 5th place finishes as he lost some crucial time due to poor pit stop strategy.
In addition, in the fifth race held at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, he topped the timesheets during the qualifying however he failed to meet the minimum fuel requirement in the car before moving back to the pit. Nevertheless, he secured an incredible
8th place finish even after starting the race from the end of the grid.
Despite facing difficulties in the last three races, he is still confidently looking forward to perform well in 2012 Canadian Grand Prix which is to be held at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal on June 10.
Meanwhile, the team principal of McLaren, Martin Whitmarsh has said that he has full faith in Hamilton while he said that they are ready to provide their drivers everything which they may need to improve their performance in the season ahead.
Over and above, he said that they are trying their best to make the necessary advancements and the essential preparations so as to improve the pace of MP4-27 for the forthcoming races to fight for this year’s championship title.
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