Alonso shows promise in Singapore
The Spaniard took the fight to Vettel in the first session of free practice at Marina Bay. Alonso set a time of 1:46.175, ending the final session in second place.
Marina Bay is a promising circuit for Alonso, and although Ferrari have already announced that the F150° Italia will not be receiving any further upgrades during the rest of the championship, Fernando once again demonstrated that with his talent alone he can achieve a great deal.
Despite a number of problems with Marina Bay's movable kerbs, the Spaniard completed two useful free practice sessions, finishing fourth (1:50.996) and second (1:46.575) respectively.
During the first session Alonso underwent the now traditional aerodynamic testing with his car coated in flow-viz, while the last session focused on long outings with the car on a full tank in order to see how the tyres perform on this pitted circuit which has raised a number of traction problems.
Alonso: “The vibrations are better than in Monza and Spa”
“The car performed more or less as we expected, and we are definitely getting better vibrations than in Monza and Spa. We have to be realistic, though, and can't expect any great surprises,” said Alonso, second in the drivers' standings 112 points behind the leader, Germany's Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault).
Spain's two-time world champion does nonetheless believe that “Red Bull remain the favourites”, while explaining that “McLaren are very strong as well”. “We will do the most to take advantage of any opportunity which may arise,” he said.
With regard to the first day of practice on the Marina Bay city circuit, Alonso had this to say: “The first session was interrupted so often, as well as being cut to one hour, that we could not do as many laps as we would have liked. And so during the ninety minutes of the second session, when everything went smoothly, we tried to lap as much as possible”.
“In general terms I am happy with what we saw today. Here, as in Monaco, it is very important for the drivers to get in as many laps as they can in order to establish the ideal reference points allowing you to take it to the limit. And you can't be even a centimetre out, because any error is extremely costly,” remarked the Spaniard.
For Alonso “racing at night always gives you a special feeling. Sometimes it is a little difficult to adjust, but from the Saturday onwards you can go all out as you push for the ultimate performance”.
Credit: Fernando Alonso (www.fernandoalonso.com)
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