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| AP Photo/Luca Bruno |
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Ferrari's Fernando Alonso insists his chances of winning the championship aren't over yet, despite Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel winning the past four races and driving a faster car.
Their duel resumes in this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Trailing Vettel by 13 points with three races remaining, Alonso knows his car's pace has to improve for him to have any chance of catching the two-time defending champion. The Spaniard finished a distant second to Vettel at the Indian Grand Prix last weekend. He had finished no better than third in the previous five races, and the commanding lead he held in the standings over the summer has quickly evaporated.
Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus is 67 points back in the standings in third spot, while Vettel's teammate Mark Webber is another six points behind.
"We believe and trust in our job and our team," said Alonso, who last week guaranteed Ferrari would still win the championship.
"We showed many times that we don't give up and we will fight until the end," he said. "When things become stressful when things become difficult, we can deliver 100 percent. The team has a lot of experience fighting for a world championships and everyone is very motivated."
Ferrari is actively trying to improve Alonso's car, and new parts are due in by Friday. Alonso said he doesn't expect those changes to close the gap immediately, but he said a more competitive car could put pressure on Red Bull and take advantage of any mistakes that Vettel makes.
"They had an easy four races, had a lot of margin and they can do little mistakes with no penalty," Alonso said. "We want to be so close to them to take the opportunity of everything they don't do perfect. We need to find perfection this weekend or these next three weekends."