Alonso: I’m fighting Newey for the title
27 October 2012
Fernando Alonso has said that, rather than him challenging Sebastian Vettel for the world title, he is also fighting Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey. Over the past weeks, the Spaniard’s championship lead has been eaten up and overhauled by the current title holder, and he is now four places behind Vettel on the Greater Noida grid.
“We’re not only fighting Sebastian, but also Newey!” Alonso said in India, greeted by laughs from some. “On Saturdays in particular it’s not so easy to fight them. Tomorrow we’ve just got to overtake the McLarens are soon as possible to try and put some pressure on Red Bull. Then we need to wait for a mistake, a pit-stop problem, a technical glitch. Something.”
Alonso added that, if Vettel is able to enjoy a clean start and pull away in his usual fashion, that scenario would be ‘the worst news’ for Ferrari.
“Fifth is the most we could achieve today. Red Bull are very strong indeed and McLaren are a bit stronger than us. I did lose some time on my last lap, but that wouldn’t change much.”
Ferrari are also involved in a tight battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship, having overhauled McLaren for that position at the Korean Grand Prix.