Alonso: “The Ferrari problem? Mercedes' advantage"

Upon returning from Sochi as a guest of the Cadena Cope Tiempo de Juego programme, Fernando Alonso, fresh from a sixth place which was useful for the morale of a still struggling McLaren, wanted to dedicate a few words to the bumper car episodes which characterized the first four races of the season 2016.

“In fact there were several strange incidents at the start, so I think we will get together in Barcelona to discuss it” – he said.

“About the fight Kvyat-Vettel in Russia, among other things I was almost hit too, I can only say that given the penalty Daniil will be more careful next time, while what happened in China was just bad luck" – continued the Spaniard regarding the latest cases.

Turning later on home affairs Woking and the performance of the MP4-31 in Putin's land the two-time world champion sincerely admitted: “The car has improved in all areas, however if there had been no retirements I would have ranked four positions behind. At this point we will see how it goes in the following grands prix when we will be able to enjoy some updates in terms of aerodynamics and chassis."

Then making a general analysis of the world championship so far, the Ovideo driver said: “La Ferrari has sometimes been held back by adverse events but the real problem is the large margin it continues to have Mercedes. Overall we are seeing something interesting. In particular, adversity brought out Hamilton's true character...".

Finally, the final dig at those who invited him to retire: “2015 wasn't easy, but my motivation is always high. I don't give importance to criticism. They are part of the game."

Chiara Rainis