Fernando Alonso enjoyed a smooth start to the 2013 season at Albert Park on Friday, completing 51 trouble-free laps of the Melbourne venue. The Ferrari driver ended his day sixth on the timesheets, just over eight tenths behind pace-setter Sebastian Vettel.
"Overall, this was a very productive Friday, as we did a lot of laps and got through an important initial analysis of the behaviour of the two types of Pirelli tyres available for this race," said Alonso.
"Our efforts were helped by particularly favourable weather with sunshine and summery temperatures. However, the weather is expected to change completely, with wind, rain and a significant drop in temperature, which could influence Sunday’s race."
Despite a positive start, Alonso believes Friday's running confirmed that Ferrari is currently behind the leading pace and admits there is 'much to do' to fight for victory.
"I’m not expecting any major surprises here, we already knew we were not the quickest and that was confirmed," Alonso went on to explain. "The car responds well, but we know there is still much to do if we want to fight with the very best."
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:25.908 | 33 |
| 2. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:26.172 | 31 |
| 3. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:26.322 | 26 |
| 4. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 01:26.361 | 38 |
| 5. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 01:26.680 | 32 |
| 6. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:26.748 | 35 |
| 7. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:26.772 | 28 |
| 8. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:26.855 | 32 |
| 9. | A. Sutil | Force India | 01:27.435 | 35 |
| 10. | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 01:28.187 | 34 |
| Full results | ||||
| Fernando Alonso | |||
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| More Fernando Alonso photos | |||
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