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Alert Alonso sets target

Championship leader Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso prefers to script his own destiny rather than rely on external factors in his quest for a third Formula One world drivers’ title.

The double world champion heads into this weekend’s cracker of a season-ending Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with an eight-point cushion over contender Mark Webber of Red Bull and 15 points over Webber’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

But despite Red Bull insisting that they will not resort to team orders which could play into Alonso’s hands, the Ferrari driver would rather go for the kill at the Yas Marina Circuit.

If the three drivers finish in the same order as they did in Brazil, then Alonso would have wrapped a third crown. But if Vettel is leading and moves over for a second-placed Webber, then, Webber would have won his first title.

“I think there’s not anything we can do other than try to finish second or first in the race. That is mathematically our position to win the championship. So, it’s our goal, from Friday to Sunday. Our preparation will be to reach that target, being on Saturday on the first row if possible. Pole position would be welcome as well, and then in the race, being first and second is our only target. It’s true that if we are not first and second, we will see how the other positions are, but it’s not our job to believe or not believe,” Alonso said on Thursday.

The Spaniard said that he wouldn’t lose sleep on whether the Red Bull drivers will change position and added that his focus is on what he can control.

“I don’t think I would lose even one second of my energy this weekend thinking of what is going to happen on Sunday afternoon. There is much more to do: Friday and Saturday preparing the weekend in the right way, and as I said, our only picture of the race at the moment is winning it or finishing second. That’s the target and I think that’s what we’re going to achieve this weekend,” he said.

Ferrari were under fire for issuing decoded team orders in Hockenheim where Felipe Massa let Alonso through to take victory. Asked whether Massa could prove to be a spanner in the works for Red Bull this weekend, Alonso said: “I think that will obviously be great news for us, if the car is competitive as it was on some occasions this year, in Germany for instance, Singapore, Monza, Bahrain. They were circuits where both Ferraris were able to be on the podium and if we are both on the podium, that will be a huge help for me, because we will take a lot of points off Red Bull. For sure, a perfect weekend for Felipe, even winning the race, will absolutely be a present for us.”

About the Ferrari’s strength, he said: “I think we don’t have the cornering speed of Red Bull and maybe we don’t have the straight line speed of McLaren but that has been more or less the season so far for us. We are not the best in the straight line, we are not the best in the corners, but in general, overall, we are always quite competitive. We can adapt to any circuit in a good way, so I feel relatively confident for the performance of the car but let’s see how it is going.”

Alonso said if he couldn’t win, there would be disappointment but it won’t hurt much.

“Obviously, you feel sad if you lose in the last moment. My case, I will not really have anything to be disappointed about in 2010.”

james@khaleejtimes.com