Alonso Wants Faster Ferrari

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso produced an excellent 2012 season to go within a whisker of the Drivers’ Championship and he now wants his Italian team to produce a faster car for 2013 to boost his chances.

The Spaniard was beaten to the 2012 Formula One title by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel by just three points, despite the Ferrari being slower throughout the year, while other teams were arguably quicker too.

“We cannot fight for a world championship if we are too slow,” Alonso told reporters in the wake of the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix where he finished second but Vettel sixth, to clinch the crown.

“We can be a little bit slower but not that much. And this year it was something strange, combinations that allowed us to fight until the end but I’m not sure we’ll be this lucky in the future.”

Alonso added that he felt other teams, including Williams and even Force India, had surpassed the Italians for speed towards the end of 2012.

“For the future, I think we need to improve the car. I think we have the best team in terms of approaching the races, preparing the races. Zero mechanical problems, zero problems for the year. Good pit stops, good starts, good strategy,” he said.

“But we were too slow. We were behind the Red Bulls, behind the McLarens, and now in the last couple of Grands Prix, behind Williams, Force India. We were clearly slower than them in pace.”