Fernando Alonso: Ferrari can't keep relying on rivals' errors
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.With his lead in the Formula One standings dwindling, and defending champion Sebastian Vettel looming, Fernando Alonso has urged his Ferrari team to step up their efforts if they are to win the world title.
Alonso finished a creditable third in the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend, while his nearest championship challenger, Lewis Hamilton, retired early with a malfunctioning gearbox in his McLaren. However, the Spaniard has gone four races without taking the checkered flag and, with Red Bull's Vettel winning the Marina Bay night race, another formidable challenger has replaced Hamilton in second place in the drivers' standings.
"In the end, it went well but we definitely can't go on like this," said Alonso, whose lead is 29 points.
"It can't always be the case that my closest rival retires, as has happened in the last two races, and we can't think of carrying on to the end of the season with qualifying sessions like last Saturday, when our performance was almost a second off the best."
Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal, agreed that improvement was necessary, particularly given the nature of the tracks in the remaining six races, with South Korea and Abu Dhabi requiring similar car set-ups.
"Clearly we need to make a step forward in terms of performance, because we cannot rely purely on the misfortune of others," Domenicali said. "Having said that, we must not overreact as it's better to bring in a few updates that work, rather than bring in too many. This is the area where we need to improve and it will be one of our priorities."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments