Fernando Alonso, mixed feelings

Fernando Alonso had positioned himself, during the third free practice session, by setting the best time in qualifying configuration. During the fateful session, in Q1, the Spanish driver once again set the best time, allowing the Spanish television commentators, helped by Marc Gené and Carlos Sainz, to give voice. Finally, the former pilot Renault will start from third position on the starting grid.

At a press conference, the Asturian driver confided that his fastest lap in Q3 was “not not perfect », having made a small error costing him a few tenths. For his first weekend of competition with Ferrari, the double World Champion was unable to offer pole position to the Team.

« The tour is very long, confides the former Renault driver. There are a lot of turns. It?s hard to do a complete turn without making any mistakes. It's really difficult to compare lap times and judge the competitiveness of the car, because you can lose time on every lap. »

However, Fernando Alonso, after a difficult 2009, is happy to find himself at the front. “ During the February tests, we didn't really know how to gauge our competitiveness. Here we show the potential of F10 and we know it is competitive. We now have eight months to develop it. »

Before Sunday's Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso of course hopes to win but the lack of references in the new conditions (tires, fuel loading) does not allow any prediction to be made. “ We don't know how it's going to happen. We have assets, we have a good car but we don't know how the race can go. Today, we were able to reveal the car?s potential on a fast lap but it?s hard to know how it will go in the race. But we know that we are at the forefront and that we have worked in the right direction. »