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Fernando Alonso will start eighth at Spa

2/9/2011

The Spanish driver will start from the eighth slot on the grid at Spa, where Sebastian Vettel will be first once again.

Despite having posted the best times during many parts of the classification phase, Fernando Alonso will have to start eighth in Spa. The Spanish driver, who clocked a time of 1:51.251, had the best time with slicks, but in the end he will have to really fight in a race in which he will fight until the end.

At the press conference following the qualifier which set tomorrow’s starting grid, Alonso explained that he will try to “fight for the podium” in an “attacking race.”

“If everything goes well, we will try to move up, be among the best, and fight for the podium. We will try to go for an attacking race,” he stated.

“We didn’t go off in the morning (free) session, because we only have four sets of intermediate tires, and three extreme sets for the whole weekend”.

“Later, the classification was not good. We are eighth on our own merits, though I am convinced that without traffic we would have been among the top three or four, because the two laps I went fastest Sergio (Pérez) had gone off the track, even bringing out a yellow flag.”

“Then, after getting off the grass and back on the track, he was right there, 10 meters in front of me, and wouldn’t let me pass. Either he didn’t see me, or something strange happened there. This ruins your lap, ruins your next lap because you start out five meters from him, and the next one because then you have to get up, and the Q3 is over,” Alonso explained.

“The traffic was an important factor, but it is true that with or without it, we would not have been able to fight for the pole. We would not have had the times Red Bull or McLaren did. With the best Q3 sessions, with everything perfect, we might have been fourth or fifth. We’re still not quite there. With these temperatures, we know we can’t reach their level,” he indicated.

“If everything goes normally and the race is dry, which is what the forecasts are calling for, despite how difficult Spa is, we will try to move up, be among the best, and fight for the podium.” This is a track on which, if we go fast, we can move up,” he commented.

“We will try to go for an attacking race. We have to see what happens among the top positions, what happens on the first curve, and see if we can take advantage of the fight between them,” the two-time world champion from Asturias explained to EFE news agency.

“We’re starting eighth. We will try to get a good start and attack like we always have, but carefully, because there are people up front who are not used to getting in the Q3 and we have to see how they respond,” he observed.

“Sergio saw me for sure. When you go off on a curve and get back on the track after hitting the grass, the first thing you do is check your mirrors to see if someone is coming,” Alonso explained.

Credit: Fernando Alonso (www.fernandoalonso.com)