Alonso still waiting for a victory in Spa

Fernando Alonso was complimented by the media for looking fit and relaxed as he arrived for his usual Thursday press session here in Belgium this afternoon. “Yes, I enjoyed the break,” explained the Scuderia Ferrari driver. “As the rest of the season involves six races outside Europe which will demand a lot of travelling which adds to the stress, these past few weeks have been useful to relax a bit. In terms of performance, the break makes no difference, so I hope we can continue with the trend established in July, being more competitive. Here at Spa, a track that is very different to Budapest, we will be trying to confirm that the car is still competitive, trying to get a fifth consecutive podium. I am still waiting for a victory here, as it is one of a couple of circuits where I have not won, so why not this year in Spa? It’s a fun circuit to drive with all types of corner and we all love to race here. I have great memories from victories in Formula 3000 here, but in Formula 1, so far I have not been good enough to win."

There are still eight races remaining but the points situation in both championships is not easy for the Scuderia, but Alonso has certainly not lost heart. “There is no doubt it is extremely difficult to close the gap, but we will fight while there is a mathematical chance,” said the Spaniard. “We have seen strange things happen in Formula 1 and with the current points system, the situation can change dramatically in two or three races. We will not give up with so many points still on the table and we will be trying to win every race. We have nothing to lose now, so we can take more risks and be more aggressive in terms of race strategy for the rest of the season.”

In order to fight for titles, a team has to keep moving forward with its car and the Ferrari man explained that, even if work is now well underway on Maranello’s 2012 challenger, it does not mean the end of development for the 150º Italia. “We are still developing this year’s car, because next year’s regulations are not so different. Therefore, anything we can learn with this year’s car in the final part of the championship will be very useful for next year. So it is useful to test new things on the current car.”

Inevitably, on the weekend that Schumacher celebrates the 20th anniversary of his F1 debut, Alonso was asked for his earliest memories of the German champion. “I first became aware of Michael in ’94 and unfortunately, it was because of Ayrton’s accident, because obviously Michael was leading that race [San Marino Grand Prix.] In Spain at that time, we did not have regular F1 TV coverage, so I did not know much about the sport. As I have said many times, I have a lot of respect for Michael who is one of the greatest, or the greatest in our sport: the numbers are there and they will never be repeated and for me it is a great pleasure to drive with him over all these years and I will always remember the battles we had. It is a privilege to drive against him.”