Alonso: “We were a lot slower”

Fernando Alonso finished the race in 7th position, just behind Felipe Massa. THE Ferrari seemed to be on pace halfway through the race, before their performance suddenly collapsed.

According to the double world champion, the two-stop strategy adopted by the Scuderia has nothing to do with it. The problem lies in the pace of the car, not in the choice of the two stops. “We need to improve the car above all else, underlines Alonso. I don't think it would have made much difference if we stopped again. We were much slower than the cars in front of us and it would have resulted in a similar result. We didn't have any particular problem. We weren't fast during the race and we continued to lose positions as we went along. We had to try to hold on and finish the race. »

The Ferrari driver also believes that Mark Webber's race perfectly illustrates this situation, where the competitiveness of the car takes precedence over strategies. “It is very easy to choose the strategy when you have the fastest car, but it is more difficult when you are slow. Webber showed today that qualification is not very important. The most important thing is to have good tire degradation and a good strategy. Moreover, this year we can exceed. As I said, the easiest thing is to have a fast car, like Red Bull. You stop three, two, once? You still find yourself on the podium. »

From Wednesday, find the report of the Chinese grand prix and the analyzes of our special correspondents in AUTOhebdo, on sale at all newsstands.