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MONTREAL, Canada - Championship leader Fernando Alonso has warned Ferrari that it must improve the pace of its cars to stay in the running for the 2012 F1 championship.
Alonso's consistent driving has given him a three-point lead over Red Bull duo Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in the title race and he believes he has benefited from the extraordinary start to the season, in which six different drivers have won the six races so far.
'PURE PACE NEEDED'
Despite his current situation, the Italian team has struggled for pace when compared with rival teams and Alonso warned that unless improvements were mad the title could soon be out of reach.
"We need to improve the pure pace of the car," he said. "For Sundays we normally are a little bit more competitive. We take advantage of the experience from the team and the talent from the team in terms of preparation for the race, the starts, and the strategy, but we know we are not fast enough, especially on Saturday when we are all in the same conditions, with low fuel and new tyres.
"We are struggling to be in Q3 and we are not anywhere close to pole. We cannot continue to lead the championship if we are not quick enough. We are not the fastest on the track."
Alonso added that he did not expect the title race to stay as open as it has since the start of the season and believes it is only a matter of time before the top teams begin to assert themselves.
'INTERESTING CHAMPIONSHIP'
"As long as there are different winners you need to be consistent if you want to lead the championship. The races are quite unpredictable but at the same time the top teams are leading the championships. We see Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, Mercedes - so even if there are surprises and some medium teams are doing well, at the end consistency and experience are getting the points out of Sundays."
He added: "It is an interesting championship but in a way I am thinking that sooner or later everything will stabilise and be much more normal than what we are seeing now."
Stay with Wheels24 for the Canadian Grand Prix!
Alonso's consistent driving has given him a three-point lead over Red Bull duo Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in the title race and he believes he has benefited from the extraordinary start to the season, in which six different drivers have won the six races so far.
'PURE PACE NEEDED'
Despite his current situation, the Italian team has struggled for pace when compared with rival teams and Alonso warned that unless improvements were mad the title could soon be out of reach.
"We need to improve the pure pace of the car," he said. "For Sundays we normally are a little bit more competitive. We take advantage of the experience from the team and the talent from the team in terms of preparation for the race, the starts, and the strategy, but we know we are not fast enough, especially on Saturday when we are all in the same conditions, with low fuel and new tyres.
"We are struggling to be in Q3 and we are not anywhere close to pole. We cannot continue to lead the championship if we are not quick enough. We are not the fastest on the track."
Alonso added that he did not expect the title race to stay as open as it has since the start of the season and believes it is only a matter of time before the top teams begin to assert themselves.
'INTERESTING CHAMPIONSHIP'
"As long as there are different winners you need to be consistent if you want to lead the championship. The races are quite unpredictable but at the same time the top teams are leading the championships. We see Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, Mercedes - so even if there are surprises and some medium teams are doing well, at the end consistency and experience are getting the points out of Sundays."
He added: "It is an interesting championship but in a way I am thinking that sooner or later everything will stabilise and be much more normal than what we are seeing now."
Stay with Wheels24 for the Canadian Grand Prix!