Spanish Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso, already a two-time World Champion, said during a promotional event for Shell in Singapore that McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton is probably is main rival in the title chase.
Ferrari's Alonso is currently first in the point standings with 179 points with Hamilton in second place with 142.
“There are many teams that are strong and are still contenders, with maybe five or six drivers that can fight for the title,” Alonso said in an interview posted on the Ferrari web site.
“Lewis (Hamilton) is second at the moment and since February, we have said that he is the one that probably I respect the most, because we know what he can do in good cars or bad cars,” he added.
“McLaren has won the last three races and so they are the favourites here as well. Hopefully we can stop their dominance: we have brought some new parts for the car and are optimistic that we can do well here and at the next two or three Grands Prix. We need to see how we perform on Friday, but our aim is to fight for pole and the win in this race. We were competitive in Monaco and Canada, which are similar circuits and so we are optimistic. We know how important is pole position here,” Alonso indicated.
Robert Kubica, a close friend of Alonso, recently made a winning return to competition, driving a Subaru Impreza WRC in an Italian rally. Could the Pole be back in F1 one day?
“I have known Robert since he was 12 years old and he is a nice guy and a very talented driver,” said Alonso.
“It was good that he has been able to drive in a rally, but if he wants to be back in Formula 1, he can’t just leave hospital and start. You need practice and you need to “wake-up” your driving skills and start a training routine physically and also mentally, as you need to become again a professional driver in your head. Driving in that rally was part of this process,” the Ferrari driver explained.
Ferrari's Alonso is currently first in the point standings with 179 points with Hamilton in second place with 142.
“There are many teams that are strong and are still contenders, with maybe five or six drivers that can fight for the title,” Alonso said in an interview posted on the Ferrari web site.
“Lewis (Hamilton) is second at the moment and since February, we have said that he is the one that probably I respect the most, because we know what he can do in good cars or bad cars,” he added.
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| Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) chasing Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) at Montreal. (Photo: WRi2) |
“McLaren has won the last three races and so they are the favourites here as well. Hopefully we can stop their dominance: we have brought some new parts for the car and are optimistic that we can do well here and at the next two or three Grands Prix. We need to see how we perform on Friday, but our aim is to fight for pole and the win in this race. We were competitive in Monaco and Canada, which are similar circuits and so we are optimistic. We know how important is pole position here,” Alonso indicated.
Robert Kubica, a close friend of Alonso, recently made a winning return to competition, driving a Subaru Impreza WRC in an Italian rally. Could the Pole be back in F1 one day?
“I have known Robert since he was 12 years old and he is a nice guy and a very talented driver,” said Alonso.
“It was good that he has been able to drive in a rally, but if he wants to be back in Formula 1, he can’t just leave hospital and start. You need practice and you need to “wake-up” your driving skills and start a training routine physically and also mentally, as you need to become again a professional driver in your head. Driving in that rally was part of this process,” the Ferrari driver explained.