Q & A with Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso: It was a gearbox problem and that's all. We will do more investigation and try to open the gearbox to see what happened inside it.

Q. At the start of the season you said that in a few races a couple of the drivers at the front might start to slip back in the championship. Are you worried that it might be you?

FA: I think we have to wait for the race. The points are for Sunday afternoon, not Saturday afternoon. Maybe (after the race) you can talk about a completely opposite feeling, an opposite way to approach this question.

So we'll wait. Hopefully I can be strong in the race. When I said that we are four drivers but slowly we will become three and then maybe at the end only two, it is because you can drop back in the points and everything becomes more difficult.

But right now, I am second in the championship. It is probably more for Kimi (Raikkonen) at the moment, because he is the furthest one from the lead.

Q. You stayed in the car when it came back to the pits - did you still have hope that it could be fixed?

FA: Yes. I did. It is frustrating to only do an out-lap, so when you stop and the mechanics start working on the car, you sit there and you wait for the miracle. There is always hope, and until the last moment you really believe that you will be able to do at least one lap. Then you realise that you will not, so you start thinking about the race.

Q. Is it going to be hard to get a lot of points from 11th and close the gap on Lewis?

FA: No doubt, no doubt. It will be extremely difficult race for me. We will be starting 10th with a fuel load that we decided before qualifying. At this point I would prefer to start 11th, with the free choice of fuel loads, but that's the way it is. I will try to recover.

Up to the first pitstop it will be very, very difficult, because I have no choice with the fuel strategy. Realistically, I need points. But I also know that more than fifth, sixth or seventh will maybe not be possible.

Q. The problem the morning, with your brakes...

FA: It was a sensor in the brakes; the brake pressure. It's quite an important one, so we decided to fix the problem completely, just to be sure for Q1, Q2, Q3.

Q. Could rain be a good thing?

FA: Absolutely. I will pray all night that (for the race it) will be raining. We know that wet conditions are always difficult, and the races can have strange results. It is a bit of a gamble when it is raining.

When you are quicker in the dry, you are maybe two-tenths quicker than the guys in front. When you are quicker in the wet, it can be maybe two seconds. So you can gain a lot of places. I really hope it is wet.

Q. From a team point of view, are you concerned that Ferrari seems to be improving?

FA: Yes. But I knew that always. People seem to forget after winning three races - Monaco, Canada and Indianapolis - people seem to forget Bahrain.

I was never at that stage; I always knew they were quick and could do a very good job, and they will always be strong. To beat Ferrari is always difficult, and it will be difficult until the last race.

Q. How was your car before the problem?

FA: It was better. On Friday it was very windy, and everybody struggled a little bit. We made some changes overnight and the car improved, but I only did one lap in P3, one lap in Q1 and one lap in Q2. So I am not very tired! Hopefully in the race I can do more laps.