Ferrari, Alonso: “A welcome in the rain at Suzuka”

I arrived in Japan this morning and found the rain welcoming me this afternoon on the Suzuka track. The first thought I had was "better today than Saturday or Sunday" because this year the wet asphalt hasn't brought us much luck: I'm thinking above all of Canada, a race in which we really had what it takes to win but which ultimately turned into the only zero of this championship.

The forecast for the weekend is quite good, at least for the first few days, while the threat of rain increases for Sunday. After all, you never know in these parts: for example last year we were forced to compete in qualifying on Sunday morning after the storm the previous day which left the track impassable.

After the Singapore Grand Prix I returned home. Now we have these two consecutive races in the Far East and then the debut of Formula 1 in India so it's better to rest a bit with the family in view of the final rush of the season. If it is true that we are now out of the fight for the Drivers' title, even arithmetically, there is still enough motivation to tackle these last five races in the right way. First of all there is second place in the Drivers' championship: considering how the season has gone so far - dominated by a driver like Vettel who only missed the podium once - it would be a really good result, for me and for the team. There will be four of us playing it - apart from me there are Webber and the McLaren duo - and I think we will have to wait until Interlagos to get a verdict. It's clear that if we look at the progress of the last few races it certainly won't be easy because my direct rivals seem to have something more from the point of view of car performance but that doesn't mean I consider myself hopeless, quite the opposite. We know we have to do everything perfectly if we want to achieve our goal but we will try our hardest. Then there is also second place in the Constructors' standings, an even more difficult objective, because the delay from McLaren is considerable, but it is not impossible. Finally, there is the desire, mine and that of the whole team - to end in the best way a season that didn't go the way we wanted. Getting at least one victory would be the best: the important thing would be to always be fighting for the podium.

I won the Japanese Grand Prix twice, once at Fuji and once here at Suzuka. The best success was precisely the latter but I'm sure that none of my current team shares this opinion. They are right because I can understand the disappointment they felt when Michael was forced to retire while he was leading in front of me: it hurts to see the car stop due to a breakdown. After all, the same thing had happened to me a few weeks earlier in Monza: Formula 1 can be cruel at times.

After Sunday's race I will go to Tokyo, a city that I really like. Together with Felipe we will participate in an event organized by Ferrari Japan for the launch of the 458 Spider. It will also be an opportunity to auction the nose of the 150° Italia that was used in the Australian Grand Prix, the one decorated with the message of solidarity for the victims of the earthquake that hit this country a few weeks before the race took place . I know that Ferrari Japan is involved in a series of charitable initiatives aimed at raising funds for the construction of a school in Ishinomaki, one of the most affected locations. On Saturday we will meet some kids from that city here on the circuit: it will be a nice moment because we will be able to do something important for them.