Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Fernando Alonso wants Ferrari to wait before focusing on 2014

Fernando Alonso believes that if he cannot beat Sebastian Vettel in the Italian and Singapore Grands Prix then Ferrari should switch its focus to 2014 instead

The only time Alonso has gained points on Vettel since winning the Spanish GP in May was when the Red Bull driver retired from the British GP.

With Vettel outscoring Alonso at every other race through the summer, the gap between them in the championship has grown to 46 points with eight races left.

"We only closed the gap in Silverstone when he retired," Alonso said. "We need to change this situation and we will be happy finishing in front of him here in Monza and in Singapore.

"And finishing in front of Seb means being on the podium minimum. We know how strong he is and how competitive Red Bull will be.

"If we cannot finish in front of him and keep losing points we need to start thinking of the 2014 project because it will only be six or seven races remaining with a massive points gap.

"These are two important races for sure."

ALONSO FEELING RELAXED

Alonso said he was not feeling too frustrated as he was confident he was getting everything he could from the Ferrari.

"When you do the maximum, and maximise the potential of the car and yourself, finding the limits every time you are behind the wheel, you feel relaxed with yourself and happy with your work," he said.

"Of course we want to fight for the championship like we did last year to the last race.

"We believe we can do it, so let's start from this weekend."

He expects Ferrari will be in good shape at Monza given his competitive run to second place at Spa a fortnight ago.

"I am optimistic," Alonso said. "At Spa we saw some steps forward from us, and we hope to continue in that direction and keep improving also here at Monza.

"The characteristics of the track should help our performance as well, so we have everything in place to have a good weekend.

"We have to deliver when the race time comes on Sunday, but we arrive with some good confidence and ready to fight.

"For us it will be a stronger test when we come to Singapore with maximum downforce, then we will see how much progress we did."

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Kimi Raikkonen's F1 future waiting on assurances from Lotus
Next article Italian GP: Lewis Hamilton would relish more podium boos

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe