28/01/2010
NEWS STORY
 |
Asked his first impressions of the Ferrari F10, Fernando Alonso said they were positive. "Regarding its comfort it seems to be more or less on the same level as last year's car," said the Spaniard. "There's always something to improve in the cockpit - seat, elbows, pedals - which have a different inclination compared to the standard set up, while we've been working on the steering wheel mainly in November and December to simplify things a little compared to the past.
"I'm very calm regarding the work done by all the technicians at Ferrari," he continued, when asked about development of the car. "We have the best technicians in the world. The work we're doing in February, with Felipe's and my suggestions on the car, makes me really confident as far as the first race is concerned. We have a team that is able to set up the best possible car for you in a very short time. What raises our confidence are the technicians, the data from the wind tunnel, the suspension, the mechanics and the engine. It might even happen that the data on the track will be even more encouraging."
The Spanish driver has no doubts about his relationship with his teammate: "Felipe and I both race for Ferrari. It is important that a red car wins. We'll both give it our all to improve our performance, we'll both give 100%. I've always had strong teammates and I never had any problems with them. I have a great relation to all of them and it won't be different with Felipe."
Asked about the role of the simulator, he replied: "The simulator serves more and more every year, because the rules allow us less and less tests on the track. But reality is always different."
Fernando admitted that as far as the new rules are concerned, much of it is 'wait and see'. "The new rules will lead to some changes in our driving styles. The drivers have to adapt to every situation, especially during the first laps in the race. Without a warm up on Sunday we'll have slower cars at the first braking points.
"We'll have a more precise idea after the first test; with the petrol load we can put into the tank we'll all have a different load on board. We'll concentrate on our work during the tests, without considering the lap times; we'll see if we'll be satisfied with the car or not."
As for the points system: "It's the same for all. Although as far as I am concerned, I'm a traditionalist; we're losing a little bit of the statistics. Today in the top ten I'm on place four in terms of overall points in the history of F1. The statistics will get lost over time, because the drivers will earn more points. But the sport has to renew itself and they decided like that because they think that this is the best possible way."
Sadly, as far as the fans are concerned, the Spaniard doesn't believe the new rules will lead to an increase in overtaking. "Nothing will change this year, you always have to take every opportunity to overtake, although, knowing nothing about the strategies of the other teams, the qualifying will be really important."
Asked if he was brave enough to make a prediction regarding the championship, the two-time title winner said: "Every season is exciting and interesting at the start; even last year I was very confident. It's the same this year, although there are the expectations regarding Schumacher's comeback, which is very good for F1, which might be well received by TV viewers. I think that there will be two teams fighting for the Drivers' Title and two for the Constructors' Title. Let's hope we'll be there. Winning the title? I'm not making a bet, right now everything is too open."
Finally, the Spanish driver spoke about his dreams and how he wants them to come true with Ferrari: "All my dreams in my career came true: now the one to become a Ferrari driver. Ten years ago I met Ferrari managers, but back then it was about racing for a client team, like Prost. Now the feeling is different, I can almost feel the car in Valencia, it's very exciting. I hope to stay here for many years, because if you don't win the Championship one year, you don't have to consider changing teams."