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Q & A with Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso wrapped up his preparations for the start of the season on Friday with a strong final testing session at Barcelona

The Spaniard is now convinced Ferrari is very well prepared and the two-time champion is raring to go racing.

AUTOSPORT heard from the Ferrari driver at the end of the day.

Q. You have completed the seven days of testing you had. Do you have a winning car?

Fernando Alonso: I don't know. What's clear is that we have done a great job. The car has worked well during all the pre-season, and I was lucky with my days because I had a lot of dry days.

We made a list of things before we began testing and today we checked the final item, so I think we arrive in Bahrain having done all we could have done, with the homework done. We'll see what happens. We don't know how fast we are compared to our rivals, but I think we will extract 100 per cent of our potential.

Q. Did you expect to have such a quick and reliable car?

FA: I was hoping so. When you join Ferrari if you don't expect a fast car it means there's something wrong. I was hopeful and it's always good to confirm that the car works well.

Q. Who will your rivals be this year?

FA: Everybody. There are a few teams who are behind, but I guess the four teams we are always speaking about: Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari. I guess those are the teams who want to fight for the title, and then there will be teams that will start the season well, like Sauber or Renault, and we'll see how they develop. But McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull are the teams we have to look out for.

Q. You said this is the best car you've ever driven in F1. Do you still believe that?

FA: What I say I usually say it because that's what I think and I can say it again. It's the best car I've ever driven, but that doesn't mean that is the best car on the grid. It's the best car I've ever had but it's impossible to know if there's a better car until the first races, but I'm quiet, and very happy with how February has gone.

Q. How many more days would you have liked to have to test before the start of the season?

FA: The more days you test, the better, because you always find small details in the car and small adjustments that make it faster, but it's the same amount of time for everybody and it's good that the first race is here because I really want the championship to start.

Q. Did you do one-lap runs?

FA: Yes, we have simulated a full weekend and the car has responded well. I have no worries ahead of Bahrain.

Q. Do you expect someone to arrive in Bahrain with something which hasn't been seen yet?

FA: I don't think so. The rules are pretty well defined this year and all teams are following a similar line of concepts, unlike last year, so I don't think there's going to be any big surprises in Bahrain.

Q. Is this the season you are looking forward to the most?

FA: Every year you want the season to start, because the winter is always very intense with a lot of tests, and you want to finally face your rivals under the same conditions, in a qualifying session and see how things are. But this year, especially with the break from November to February, it has been long, but there's little left to go to Bahrain.

Q. There's talk that Mercedes is preparing a great diffuser for Bahrain. Are you worried about this?

FA: You are always paying attention to anything your rivals introduce, but if they take something innovative to Bahrain we'll see what it is and I'll answer better. Right now it's just a rumour that I haven't heard of.

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