Monaco GP: Fernando Alonso preview

Monaco GP - Alonso: "driver factor is higher here"

Monaco, 12 May -- Against the unique and scenic venue of Monaco harbour, Fernando Alonso met the media this afternoon in the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro motorhome, where he was first asked for a quick assessment of the season so far. "We have had some good weekends, in Bahrain, where we won and in Spain where we came second and in both cases, we got the best out of the package, even if the Spanish result was false in some ways, because some guys had bad luck and lost places," said the Spaniard. "However, the important thing is that we were there in the right place to make the most of that. Already on Saturday in Barcelona, I said that would be the case, that we would have to be ready to take any opportunity. On the other hand, we need to avoid making our own mistakes, as was the case in Malaysia and China."

Moving on to the race here in the Principality, the Ferrari man reckoned it was impossible to predict the outcome. "Here, the circuit is so different and unique that the different performance levels we have seen in the first part of the championship will not be so important, because anything can happen. Maybe some cars that have not been super-quick in other races, will be able to deliver a good performance. I expect Ferrari to have a strong weekend, preparing well for the race, getting a good set up, while getting the tyres to work well for us. I don't think we have to automatically say that Red Bull is the favourite here. They will be very quick and if you look at Turkey, Silverstone or Canada for example, you could say they would be favourite, but here in Monaco it is harder to predict. However, they will be hard to beat as they have two very good drivers. It's a mix of everything and here, luck can be more important than at other tracks and the driver factor is also higher than at other tracks, but the car is still the most important element of the package, as you can see from the fact that, in the past it is always the best teams and cars that win here."

Fernando was also asked if winning at this street circuit would mean more than winning the world title. Looking somewhat surprised at the question, he said: "I prefer to win the title and not to win here, but this is the most important race on the calendar, with the most attention and media coverage all over the world and it is very important for the sponsors. It is a special race and everyone wants to win it." A statistically minded journalist pointed out that all

the four world champions on the grid this weekend have all won at Monaco, but Alonso had a very simple explanation for it: "They have usually been in a very good car! I don't think it is too significant but I would very much like to win for a third time on Sunday."

-source: ferrari