Ferrari, Brawn and BMW are, right now, unreachable - Alonso

Despite the difficulties the Brackley-based outfit has suffered the last few weeks, the team has done very good on the Spanish test track this week. According to Renault F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso, the Brawn GP team is one of the squads that is one step ahead of the rivals and this less than a month before the first race of the season.

Alonso said to the Spanish press at the Circuit de Catalunya: "It's hard to judge right now, but Toyota, Ferrari, BMW or Brawn are very fast. The competition is very tough and everybody is working well, with a good progression.

"It's obvious that there are three or four teams ahead of the rest. Ferrari, Brawn, or BMW are, right now, unreachable.

"We have to think that finishing fifth here (at the test track), with one car per team, means being 10th in a race. There are three or four teams ahead of us. Even so, it's not all about winning in Melbourne because the championship is very long."

Alonso believes that Brawn GP benefited from switching its efforts to 2009 earlier than the rest. The Spaniard said: "It's not normal that they are so quick in their first tests. The truth is that they have a car that Honda began working on in 2007 to use in 2009. And that's evident in its design, because it's a very elaborate car, with different shapes than the rest."