Alonso looking to avenge Monza mare
Fernando Alonso is looking to avenge the memories of last year's Monza mare and carve a chunk out of Lewis Hamilton's championship lead at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
The 26-year-old Spaniard endured an ordeal in 2006, being punished five grid places after being judged to have blocked Felipe Massas's Ferrari in qualifying, leading to his having his Renault team accuse the FIA of Ferrari bias.
He then retired from the race with a blown engine - a legacy of overheating due to being held up behind slower cars he felt he should have started ahead of in the first place.
But the double world champion is determined to get his own back on his opponents by winning.
"Last year did not give me any good memories, but it is a track that I would really like to win at so hopefully we can make that happen in 2007," said Alonso.
"The track is very famous for the Parabolica corner, alongside all the straights. It is flat out, and you really have to be on the edge and push the car hard, which is a real feeling of risk because of the light handling of the car.
"To get a quick lap time here, you have to be strong through Parabolica as it takes you back onto the longest straight of them all over the start / finish line."
Alonso is five points adrift of his British McLaren team-mate Hamilton with five races to go.
Ferrari duo Massa and Raikkonen are looming, both within 16 points of the lead.
But after dominating the four days of testing at the circuit last week, Alonso is optimistic that it will be just the McLaren drivers who are in front this weekend.
"With this small amount of downforce, you then have to adapt areas such as braking stability and mechanical balance to get good grip in the corners, because the lack of downforce means the car has very little," he added.
"We spent time testing these on the track this week, and we had some good feedback so I feel positive going into the race. It is a challenge, but it is a special circuit and it is a great feeling to race here.
Italian GP - Alonso looking to avenge Monza mare - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Fernando Alonso is looking to avenge the memories of last year's Monza mare and carve a chunk out of Lewis Hamilton's championship lead at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
The 26-year-old Spaniard endured an ordeal in 2006, being punished five grid places after being judged to have blocked Felipe Massas's Ferrari in qualifying, leading to his having his Renault team accuse the FIA of Ferrari bias.
He then retired from the race with a blown engine - a legacy of overheating due to being held up behind slower cars he felt he should have started ahead of in the first place.
But the double world champion is determined to get his own back on his opponents by winning.
"Last year did not give me any good memories, but it is a track that I would really like to win at so hopefully we can make that happen in 2007," said Alonso.
"The track is very famous for the Parabolica corner, alongside all the straights. It is flat out, and you really have to be on the edge and push the car hard, which is a real feeling of risk because of the light handling of the car.
"To get a quick lap time here, you have to be strong through Parabolica as it takes you back onto the longest straight of them all over the start / finish line."
Alonso is five points adrift of his British McLaren team-mate Hamilton with five races to go.
Ferrari duo Massa and Raikkonen are looming, both within 16 points of the lead.
But after dominating the four days of testing at the circuit last week, Alonso is optimistic that it will be just the McLaren drivers who are in front this weekend.
"With this small amount of downforce, you then have to adapt areas such as braking stability and mechanical balance to get good grip in the corners, because the lack of downforce means the car has very little," he added.
"We spent time testing these on the track this week, and we had some good feedback so I feel positive going into the race. It is a challenge, but it is a special circuit and it is a great feeling to race here.
Italian GP - Alonso looking to avenge Monza mare - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
