Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso was on Thursday a little guarded about Ferrari's prospects for 2012 when he met with the media in Italy.
The Spaniard said he assumes defending champion Red Bull Racing will remain the team to beat and added that he does not expect a clear picture to emerge until the season begins in Melbourne on March 18--or possibly later.
“I don't have a crystal ball, so I don't feel I can make any predictions,” Alonso said. “Theoretically, it will be Red Bull, but I say that based only on the fact that, for the past two years, they have won both titles. I reckon we will have to wait for at least two or three races, which means up to Shanghai, to really understand what the hierarchy is. Maybe some people think that the tests mean something, but that is not the case.
“On paper, we have everything in place to do well, but I can be neither optimistic nor pessimistic, partly because I have only seen the new car in the wind tunnel and from the diagrams on the engineers' computers. I don't think there will be a big difference compared to the other cars, because the regulations are very clear. But there will definitely be some innovations and good technical ideas.”
Alonso is encouraged by Ferrari's latest additions to its technical staff, including veteran Bridgestone engineer Hirohide Hamashima. The team has been revamped substantially around technical director Pat Fry, who has brought in former McLaren colleagues.
“All the newcomers are absolutely welcome because they represent a breath of fresh air for the team and bring a new package of experience to the team,” Alonso said. “Hamashima is a good acquisition because he looks after an area, tires, where we suffered last year. We did not manage to maximize our potential, especially with some of the [tire] compounds, and we hope this situation can improve.”
“Pat has brought new ideas, combining a different approach to the one that Ferrari traditionally adopted towards its work. If we can get the most out of these various experiences it will be very positive. Already last year, we began to see improvements in all areas compared to the past, but then we stepped up a gear again in the second half of the 2011 season, with a more efficient way of working.
“I think that the results will be seen even more clearly this year and we won't have to wait, as was the case in 2011, also because we should have resolved the problems of correlation of our wind-tunnel data [with the real world], which afflicted us in the first part of last season.”
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Description: Formula One: Fernando Alonso not making predictions for 2012
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