Ferrari man Fernando Alonso says his grid position for Sunday afternoon’s Japanese Grand Prix was somewhat expected, with the session being predominantly controlled by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard will start from fifth, one spot behind team-mate Felipe Massa.
"I am not very surprised by this result: at the end of the day, McLaren and Red Bull have been quicker than us all weekend long and at least we have managed to get ahead of Webber," Alonso explained. "I seem to have a season ticket for fifth place this year and at least it means I start from the clean side of the track.
"Tomorrow I expect significant tyre degradation to be a key feature of the race, with the possibility of several pit stops, which means strategy will play a very important role. We hope we won’t have the same problems as in Singapore two weeks ago.
"We will try and make the best choices and fight for a podium finish, which is a realistic target. The win is certainly less so: as we saw in qualifying, McLaren seem very close to Red Bull here. The start will also be an important moment, if we happen to make up some places we will try and have our say."
Further post-qualifying feelings from Ferrari:
Massa: At least Webber is behind us
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:30.466 | 14 |
| 2. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:30.475 | 14 |
| 3. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:30.617 | 14 |
| 4. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:30.804 | 15 |
| 5. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:30.886 | 13 |
| 6. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:31.156 | 14 |
| 7. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | no time | 10 |
| 8. | B. Senna | Lotus Renault | no time | 12 |
| 9. | V. Petrov | Lotus Renault | no time | 17 |
| 10. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | no time | 15 |
| Full results | ||||
| Fernando Alonso | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Fernando Alonso photos | |||
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