Alonso unconvinced of Ferrari revival of fortunes

Alastair Moffitt

Alonso completed his third consecutive win of the season despite enormous pressure from Michael Schumacher at Imola two weeks ago, which signalled a return to form for Ferrari.

The world champion was over a second a lap quicker than anyone else in the race and only missed the victory through a combination of a qualifying error and Alonso’s superb defensive drive.

But Renault driver Alonso believes that performance was a one-off and does not expect Schumacher to maintain that speed at Barcelona.

He said: “We were certainly slower than Ferrari in Imola, even if we don’t know for definite the reasons why, and the whole team has been working very hard to push even more for Barcelona.

“But I think that Ferrari found very special conditions in San Marino that worked perfectly for them. It is not normal for one car to be so fast compared to every other car in the field, not just ours.

“Certainly we are not now fighting the same Ferrari team we saw at the first three races, but I don’t think we will be facing the same strength as in Imola either. Hopefully things will be tougher for them this weekend.”

Alonso leads the world championship by 18 points after four dominant races from Renault, but the Spaniard returns to his home track expecting a tough time.

Imola showed a return to form for expected title contenders McLaren and BAR, with Kimi Raikkonen retiring from the lead and Jenson Button taking his first podium of the season with third.

With Ferrari back challenging at the front, the battle for victory at Barcelona will be a busy one, according to Alonso.

He said: “If you look at the results, a Renault has won the first four races of the season, so everything is still there to fight for.

“Historically, Barcelona has been a much better circuit for the team than Imola, so we have to be confident for this race.

“But the other teams are very quick, and we all test there so everybody knows the circuit. I think the competition will be very close, even more than we saw in Bahrain or Imola.”

Schumacher has high hopes of toppling Alonso though and is encouraged by his performance on Ferrari’s home ground at Imola.

“Our showing at Imola was really fantastic,” said the world champion.

“It has given us great encouragement and now we cannot wait for Barcelona.

“I said it before the San Marino Grand Prix and it is the same this time around, the title race really has begun for us.

“Our car’s performance and, above all, the whole team’s and that of our partners was more than encouraging.

“It is obvious that our fighting spirit has been reawakened. The others will also have to keep an eye on us. I have high hopes that we can go for the win at Barcelona.”