Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso feeling the pressure at Monza
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso has revealed his distress at the result of his recent run at Spa-Francorchamps and is insistent that his next race – the Italian circuit Monza – must be successful if he is to sustain his hopes of the 2010 Formula One Driver’s Championship title.
In a critical and reflective entry on his Ferrari blog, the Spanish virtuoso expressed his surprise at the terrible outcome of the Belgian Grand Prix. While team-mate Felipe Massa finished sixth, giving Ferrari third place in the Team Championship at 250 points, Alonso failed to score any points for the second time this season after crashing out. Suffering a smack from Williams’ Rubens Barrichello in the first lap and then falling defeated to the rain and a miscalculated tire change, Alonso left the race at Lap 38.
“It was not the Belgian Grand Prix we were expecting, that’s for sure. I think the key moment in my race came on the very first lap. I had made a good start and made up a few places. The car was responding well and there was every chance of finishing up on the podium," he wrote, but pegged his pit stop as having been the main cause of his downfall. "
Unfortunately, I had to come back to the pits almost immediately and that changed everything. I could have done without going off the track, but it did not make a great difference: the rain meant that any chance I had of making up some places through our strategy evaporated.”
Though disappointed, Alonso can find consolation in the fact that top contenders Jenson Button of McLaren and Red-Bull’s Sebastian Vettel also failed to make an impact. All three drivers will feel the heat to do well in Monza in order to make up for the poor performance at Spa, but Alonso remains confident that Ferrari can ride on the energy generated by his team.
“Racing at Monza for the first time as a Ferrari driver will definitely be a nice feeling,” he observes. “Our team is made up of 95 percent Italians and you can feel the passion and the will to do well for this special event. I can’t wait to be there and look forward to seeing the grandstands packed with fans: we need their support.”
At 41 pts behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, Alonso will need all the energy he can muster as well as his skill, in order to throw himself back into the title race in a week’s time.
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