Fernando Alonso is delighted with his win at today’s Chinese Grand Prix after a trouble-free race, crossing the checkered flag first with a 10 second gap to second placed Kimi Raikkonen.
“It was a fantastic race for us from the start to the end without any big problems from the car,” he said after the race. “The tire degradation was better than expected so we managed the pace.”
Whilst Raikkonen became embroiled in a strategic battle with Lewis Hamilton, Alonso was able to focus on his own race, and cut 13 points out of Sebastian Vettel’s championship lead. The result sees Ferrari return to form and close on Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, having endured a troublesome race last time out in Malaysia.
This video is no longer available. Click here to watch more NBC Sports videos!“It feels great after the retirement in Malaysia,” Alonso said. “We had some pressure to finish the race.”
Alonso posted two fastest laps during his final stint, and although his time was bettered by Vettel late on, the Ferrari driver showed strong pace. His team told him over the radio “you do not have to push”, to which Alonso replied “I am not pushing!” despite his purple lap times.
The two-time world champion was keen on building upon the result, and he has high hopes for the rest of the season.
“In the two races we’ve finished we have got second place and victory so our start of the 2013 season is very good. We are very optimistic for the rest of the season.”
Ferrari trail Red Bull by just five points in the constructors’ championshp, with Felipe Massa finishing today’s race in P6.
