Alonso quietly confident of Ferrari’s potential 22 Feb 2010
He may not have figured at the top end of the timesheets, but Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso believes the team are very much on the right path with the new F10, following last week’s test at Jerez in Spain.
During two days in the car, Alonso completed almost 1,200 kilometres, and although his fastest lap was well over a second down on the session best set by McLaren’s Jenson Button, Alonso insists he is happy with his pace as Ferrari prepare for the final pre-season test in Barcelona later this week.
"I think that someone showed his muscles, while we didn’t,” said the Spaniard following Jerez. “We’ll see in Barcelona - when we’ll show up with the latest updates - where we are compared to the others. We can say that we’re on the right way.
“Over these two days on the dry I could drive many miles and I’m satisfied by the car’s performance and reliability. The F10 is growing very well and there’s nothing that should worry us. We worked on the long run today and the signs we got are really positive.”
Combining Felipe Massa’s running with Alonso’s, Ferrari covered just under 350 laps over the four days at Jerez, a tally that suggests the F10 has little to fear in the reliability stakes. As for its absolute performance, Alonso admitted there was room to progress, but would give no details away.
“Naturally we have to improve, because we’re not at the max, but we’re getting there,” added the former champion. “Where do we have to improve? There’s always something to do, but telling you would mean I’d be like a goalie telling you about his weak point so all the strikers would hit there!"
Alonso will be back on the track on Thursday at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya for the first two days of the four-day session. Massa will drive on Saturday and Sunday.
