Fernando Alonso says he’s happy with fourth place on the grid in Germany, despite having at one stage looked like a threat to Red Bull.
Alonso insists that he’s the same margin behind the blue cars as he expected to be, the only surprise being that Lewis Hamilton has also got in front of him.
“I think it was OK for us,” said the Spaniard. “We said yesterday we were between two and four tenths behind Red Bull, and we are between two and four-tenths behind Red Bull. Hamilton did very well today. Yesterday maybe they were testing some new parts or whatever, and they were not so good in the times at the end, but they were very competitive, and today they showed it.
“No surprises, I think. To be fourth is a very good position for us, and in the race tomorrow maybe with the rain, anything can happen, so we will attack for sure.
“We’re still improving the car, the new parts we brought here are also very positive, the car feels better and better every time. It’s not that our competitors are looking at the TV in the 15 days between the two races, everyone is improving. We know McLaren brought here a big aero package, Red Bull as well, it’s a competition also outside the races which team is quicker in developing the car as well.”
Alonso says that a wet race will be all about survival.
“Tomorrow there’s a forecast of rain, and if that’s true, I think the race is very open. You never know what can happen in a wet race. Tyre temperature will be an issue, because already we have problems with dry tyres, and if it’s wet, with 11C ambient temperature, I don’t know how we will put some heat in the tyres.
“It’s the same for everybody. It’s a race to survive tomorrow, if it’s wet. We need to finish that race, and I’m sure it will be a podium.”
Adam Cooper F1 