As if the F1 community had not been surprised enough on Saturday, Fernando Alonso believes mother nature will play more of a role when the Spanish Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, with cooler ambient and track temperatures due.
Having delighted his home fans by momentarily seizing pole position today, Alonso still managed to retain a highly respectable third place as team-mate Felipe Massa could manage no more than 17th at the Circuit de Catalunya.
“This third place is not what we had expected,” admits the Oviedo man, who won the event for Renault in 2006. “We were counting on making a step forward that would allow us to get into Q3 with less difficulty than in the first races of the season and we managed it. But we certainly did not think we could be so high up the grid.
“I don’t know if this position is a true reflection of our car’s performance – it’s definitely not normal for a Red Bull and a McLaren to be eliminated in Q2 and that the other Red Bull gets into Q3 with no sets of new Soft tyre available – but what is certain is that the new parts we have brought here have resulted in us taking a step in the right direction; but, sure, it’s not yet enough to fight for the very top places.”
Spain is yet to witness a wet F1 race since Michael Schumacher took his first victory for Ferrari in 1996, but the varying temperatures of Sunday are still set to turn things around.
“We will have to be careful,” Alonso begins to sum up, “because the forecast is for different temperatures to today and that could throw up some surprises. Racing in front of this amazing crowd always gives me some extra motivation!”
Last year, Sebastian Vettel fended off Lewis Hamilton for his first Barcelona win.
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