King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Mahmoud Abbas appoints Hussein Al-Sheikh as PLO vice president in key succession move    Saudi Arabia's entertainment sector attracts 76 million visitors in 2024    Third round of US-Iran nuclear talks concludes with cautious optimism    Multiple casualties reported after vehicle drives into crowd at Vancouver street festival    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi Arabia deports 12,866 illegal residents in a week    SFDA clears first 44-ton medical shipment for Hajj pilgrims    Ministry of Hajj issued over 150,000 Nusuk cards for the Hajj of 2025    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Alonso downplays chances, says Red Bull still ‘strongest'
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 04 - 2013

SAKHIR, Bahrain — Having ended a 12-race drought with a dominant victory in China, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is quickly emerging as the most likely candidate to end the dominance of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.
The two-time Formula One champion has the chance to overtake Vettel in the drivers' championship with a win Sunday at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Four days after his win in the Chinese GP, Alonso spent much of Thursday tamping down expectations that he was the favorite to win the F1 title in 2013.
“We still don't have the advantage,” Alonso said. “People like to say that after one victory. In China, Sebastian was the quickest, but they chose a very strange strategy Saturday and compromised their race. We need to keep improving and be a little bit faster. We have some new things for this race and some new components for Barcelona and Monaco. So in the next few months, we hope to be one of the best cars.”
Alonso also said it was too early to be predicting a champion in a 19-race season where the first three have produced different winners — with Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen claiming victory in the season-opening Australian GP and Vettel in Malaysia.
“We saw also last year many surprises and the first three races are more or less to see the potential of everyone,” he said. “The Red Bull cars we know are probably the strongest, so they will be there as well, and Kimi is doing fantastic. He is driving maybe better than anyone.”
Vettel admitted the team's strategy in China didn't work after he completed the final lap of qualifying on the harder of two tire compounds — knowing it would send them down the grid but would allow him to stay out longer than his challengers.
But he said his late charge to nearly catch Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton for third place was a good sign.
“It's not a disaster to be honest,” Vettel said. “We had a pretty strong race. It was very close not to finish on the podium. All in all, we had reason to believe in our strategy. Probably, it didn't work out that well.”
Vettel said there were “a couple of things we can do better working with tires, trying to get more range and pace out of them” in a bid to close the gap with Ferrari, which he believed had much better pace than Red Bull in China. “I think there is no reason why we shouldn't be competitive,” said Vettel, who won in Bahrain last year. “We have a quick car and we proved that in Melbourne and Malaysia.”
Feuding Force India teammates Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil, meanwhile, said Thursday that they have buried the hatchet after their clash at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. “Most importantly we looked at it, we spoke about it and that's it,” he said at the Manama circuit. “There are worse scenarios here in this paddock between team-mates.” — Agencies


Clic here to read the story from its source.