Ferrari Formula One driver Fernando Alonso (L) of Spain celebrates winning the British F1 Grand Prix as third placed Red Bull driver Mark Webber (C) of Australia and second placed Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany watch at Silverstone, central England, July 10, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Darren Staples
By Mark Meadows
NUERBURGRING, Germany | Thu Jul 21, 2011 6:19pm BST
(Reuters) - What a difference a win makes.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was keen to emphasise just how bullish he feels for Sunday's German Grand Prix after securing his first victory of the season in Britain last time out.
"Silverstone was an important boost for the team after difficult times," the former double world champion told reporters at a rainy Nuerburgring on Thursday.
"I am very, very confident in the car, the engine and all our designers are very motivated now, knowing that everything they did, working day and night is producing good results on Sunday."
Red Bull's Mark Webber reckoned it was "incredibly unlikely" that Ferrari would not win again this year.
Nevertheless, third-placed Alonso knows Red Bull's defending champion Sebastian Vettel tops the standings by a huge margin with half the season gone -- 92 points to be exact.
"We face difficulties in terms of the championship this year...but we will not give up. We will try to win races and wait for some mistakes from Red Bull," the Spaniard said.
"We have, I think, 32 points more than last year from these same nine races, so we are definitely improving our results, but we have to accept that Red Bull was very, very dominant in the first half. There is nothing we can do about that now."
Alonso's team mate Felipe Massa, who is again faring less well, has been confirmed for next season but beyond that the situation is less clear.
"Maybe I stay here, maybe I don't," the Brazilian shrugged.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
Credit: Reuters (www.reuters.com)
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