Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso confident of his team’s chances in Malaysian Grand Prix – Formula 1 news
Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso is confident of his team’s chances for the upcoming race of the 2011 Formula 1 season at Sepang in Malaysia on Sunday, 10 April.
The Spanish driver finished the season opener at Melbourne in fourth place behind Vitaly Petrov of Renault.
The two-time Formula 1 champion said, “I believe we must stay concentrated on our own work and try to understand how to get all the potential out of the 150° Italia and I'm sure there's plenty to come.”
Although Alonso was confident of his chances, he was a bit uncertain about the weather in Malaysia.
He added, “Suddenly it can go from sunshine to a short sharp shower and you need to be prepared for every eventuality. It's not just a problem for us drivers, as its affects the whole team: in some cases you need to be ready with a plan B or C, or even maybe
a D for all the various scenarios.”
Considering all these factors, the Spaniard said that it would not be an ideal thing to make a prediction for the race. He said that the team would bring some upgrades to the scarlet car and look for improvement in the given package.
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel was the quickest throughout the Australian Grand Prix. He was consistent during the practice sessions and was able to dominate during the qualifiers as well.
The reigning Formula 1 champion did not have any dramas during race day and finished almost 22 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. Although it was an indication that Red Bull would be unbeatable in 2011, the real picture might change in the second
race of the season.
During the Australian GP, there were times when Hamilton lapped quicker than Vettel and just two seconds separated the two drivers at one stage. However, the British driver faced some issues with the floor of his car, which was badly damaged, and that cost
him a lot of downforce.
One more element which made things easier for Red Bull was the fact that the Australian GP is a semi-street circuit. The next race at Sepang will be on a complete racetrack and it will be much more challenging for all teams. There will be a lot of overtaking
opportunities, courtesy two long straights at the venue, which will make the race exciting.
The higher track temperatures in Malaysia will also cause greater tyre wear and teams with better strategies will benefit a lot from the race.
Apart from all these factors, teams like McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes will have to lift their performance during the qualifiers and challenge Red Bull. The reigning Formula 1 champions took 15 poles out of 19 races in the previous season and started with
another one in 2011.
Tags: