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SAO PAULO, Brazil - Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, winner of two Formula 1 championships in Brazil, says he feels less pressure and has nothing to lose as he chases a third in Sunday's title-decider at Interlagos, Brazil.
The Spaniard is 13 points behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and must finish on the podium to becoming a triple champion.
LESS PRESSURE
In 2010 he led Vettel by 15 points going into the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi but lost out because his team botched strategy. In 2005 and 2006, when he took his titles for Renault, he was leading ahead of the Interlagos finale.
Alonso said: "In F1 there's always pressure but definitely we have less than on some other occasions and maybe less than if we were leading the championship. We have nothing, really, to lose. We are second, we are arriving after two qualifyings dominated by Red Bull - well, five or six - and then we were around positions seven, eight (on the grid) in the last couple of GP's.
"If everything goes normally, we should finish second."
Qualifying has been Ferrari's weakness in an unpredictable season but Alonso has been able to stay in the hunt thanks to his car's reliability and race pace. The 31-year-old has been on the podium 12 times in 2012, including three wins, despite having a car that looked uncompetitive back in March.
ALONSO vs VETTEL
Vettel, who is chasing his third championship in a row, has won four times in the six most recent races (five wins in total) and been on the podium 10 times.
Alonso was philosophical about Sunday's 2012 season-ender, which looks likely to be a wet race and therefore unpredictable, and said he would have more chances in future if Vettel lived up to expectations this time. "I'm at Ferrari for the next four or five years, minimum," he said. "I think that will always give you the possibility to fight for World championships. But let's concentrate on this one.
"If we win, we will be very happy, but we know we need a strange combination of results. If we don't win, we will congratulate him and we will try again in 2013."
Stay with Wheels24 for the Brazilian GP weekend.
The Spaniard is 13 points behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and must finish on the podium to becoming a triple champion.
LESS PRESSURE
In 2010 he led Vettel by 15 points going into the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi but lost out because his team botched strategy. In 2005 and 2006, when he took his titles for Renault, he was leading ahead of the Interlagos finale.
Alonso said: "In F1 there's always pressure but definitely we have less than on some other occasions and maybe less than if we were leading the championship. We have nothing, really, to lose. We are second, we are arriving after two qualifyings dominated by Red Bull - well, five or six - and then we were around positions seven, eight (on the grid) in the last couple of GP's.
"If everything goes normally, we should finish second."
Qualifying has been Ferrari's weakness in an unpredictable season but Alonso has been able to stay in the hunt thanks to his car's reliability and race pace. The 31-year-old has been on the podium 12 times in 2012, including three wins, despite having a car that looked uncompetitive back in March.
ALONSO vs VETTEL
Vettel, who is chasing his third championship in a row, has won four times in the six most recent races (five wins in total) and been on the podium 10 times.
Alonso was philosophical about Sunday's 2012 season-ender, which looks likely to be a wet race and therefore unpredictable, and said he would have more chances in future if Vettel lived up to expectations this time. "I'm at Ferrari for the next four or five years, minimum," he said. "I think that will always give you the possibility to fight for World championships. But let's concentrate on this one.
"If we win, we will be very happy, but we know we need a strange combination of results. If we don't win, we will congratulate him and we will try again in 2013."
Stay with Wheels24 for the Brazilian GP weekend.