Fernando Alonso is convinced he can fight for the Formula One world title after emerging through the chaos of the opening five races.
Good fortune shone on Alonso to the delight of his fans in his home grand prix in Barcelona.
A brake problem for Sebastian Vettel and suspected tyre rim failure for Lewis Hamilton unexpectedly elevated the Ferrari star from fourth to second in the closing laps.
It was Alonso's best result since his season-opening victory in Bahrain, after which he encountered numerous problems.
Remarkably, going into this Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, Alonso is firmly back in the title hunt, trailing championship leader Jenson Button by just three points.
"The championship is long," said Alonso.
"There will be some circuits where we will be closer to Red Bull and some circuits like in Barcelona where we know it's going to be more difficult.
"But overall, for the remaining races, I think we have a package, a car that can fight for the world championship which is the main goal."
Alonso knows, though, consistency is critical and that he cannot afford to endure a rollercoaster ride for the remainder of the year.
"You need good results all the way through," added the 28-year-old.
"So far we have had two engine problems, one gearbox problem, one jumped start, some chaotic races, but we are only three points behind the leader, so we are happy.
"It's still very early in the championship, but better to be in the first three or four positions than eighth or ninth.
"But from now we need four or five podiums in a row. We cannot have one podium and then another three races with mistakes if we are to win the championship.
"But we understand that. We know the mistakes we have made at the beginning of the championship, which is why we arrived in Barcelona with a very good approach.
"We were a super Ferrari team over the weekend with no mistakes at all."
With Ferrari planning a solid period of upgrades over the next few weeks, Alonso is confident that will keep him in the hunt.
"There is a very aggressive plan of developing the car with some good gains and good improvements to come in the next races, so we are very optimistic on that," said Alonso.
Source: Sportinglife.com
Good fortune shone on Alonso to the delight of his fans in his home grand prix in Barcelona.
A brake problem for Sebastian Vettel and suspected tyre rim failure for Lewis Hamilton unexpectedly elevated the Ferrari star from fourth to second in the closing laps.
It was Alonso's best result since his season-opening victory in Bahrain, after which he encountered numerous problems.
Remarkably, going into this Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, Alonso is firmly back in the title hunt, trailing championship leader Jenson Button by just three points.
"The championship is long," said Alonso.
"There will be some circuits where we will be closer to Red Bull and some circuits like in Barcelona where we know it's going to be more difficult.
"But overall, for the remaining races, I think we have a package, a car that can fight for the world championship which is the main goal."
Alonso knows, though, consistency is critical and that he cannot afford to endure a rollercoaster ride for the remainder of the year.
"You need good results all the way through," added the 28-year-old.
"So far we have had two engine problems, one gearbox problem, one jumped start, some chaotic races, but we are only three points behind the leader, so we are happy.
"It's still very early in the championship, but better to be in the first three or four positions than eighth or ninth.
"But from now we need four or five podiums in a row. We cannot have one podium and then another three races with mistakes if we are to win the championship.
"But we understand that. We know the mistakes we have made at the beginning of the championship, which is why we arrived in Barcelona with a very good approach.
"We were a super Ferrari team over the weekend with no mistakes at all."
With Ferrari planning a solid period of upgrades over the next few weeks, Alonso is confident that will keep him in the hunt.
"There is a very aggressive plan of developing the car with some good gains and good improvements to come in the next races, so we are very optimistic on that," said Alonso.
Source: Sportinglife.com
