Feeling relieved
The Spanish World Champion, Fernando Alonso, finished second after a scintillating battle with Michael Schumacher in the final laps of today's Turkish GP. The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team driver scored two more points than his rival Schumacher with 4 races left on the programme.
"I am pretty relieved I think. I have score two points more than Michael Schumacher, and we have four races left. The championship is still open, of course, but it is one race less and we have out-scored him, so it’s good…"
Were you managing your pace in the closing stages?"It’s hard to manage things when you’re on the limit! I was hoping that Michael would not get past me. He only really had a chance in turn 12, so I knew that being quick in turns 8, 9 and 10 was the secret to staying ahead. I was using the maximum revs in that sector, then looking after things in the slower parts."
So in the end, it’s a good result?"I don’t know! Finishing second is good, but I was hoping to be competitive and to try and win the race, like in Barcelona. There, we were not so good in qualifying but we had the advantage in the race. I knew yesterday that the race would be better for us, but I would have liked to be more competitive. It’s a good result, of course, but we lost too many points in the constructors’ championship."
Did you have any problems?"No. The first set of tyres was graining a bit and I lost time. I was worried for the next stint, but the old set was perfect."
Are you optimistic for the end of the season?"Of course. Testing starts again this week, we have developments coming on the car and we are still leading both championships. I’m feeling positive."
