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Fernando Alonso reckons that Ferrari will have better races in the coming month, buoyed by the performance with minor updates on the car at the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday.
From fifth on the grid at the Buddh circuit, the Spaniard propelled to a podium finish but lost further points to his chief rival and leader Sebastian Vettel in the standings. However, the double world champion was confident of claiming his third title this season.
“I pushed 120 percent every lap so the combination was this second place,” said Alonso who confessed that he still doesn’t have a car capable of winning.
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali described Alonso’s race as a “60 lap qualifying session” giving the Italian further encouragement about the driver’s prospects in the championship.
“I recall that, in 1982, the Italian football team was definitely not the strongest but went on to win that year’s World Cup,” Domenicali said. “In Fernando we have the luxury of having the number one driver with whom we can fight until the end.”
Teammate Felipe Massa salvaged sixth as he raced in fuel saving mode due to unexpected high consumption.
“It’s also true that I didn't have all the new parts in the car, compared to Fernando. So I lost a little bit of performance there,” the Brazilian pointed out.
“If you had everything right, maybe it was possible to fight the McLarens, maybe even finish in front of them,” he added.
Ferrari is expected to introduce new parts in the upcoming Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will be put on both the drivers’ cars.