Last chance for Alonso, Button
marius valentine
Last chance for Alonso, Button
Monza - Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button face a difficult
balancing act at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix where an aggressive approach
could reignite their championship hopes or see their chances go up in literal
smoke.
With six races left in the F1 season, the pair have slipped back in the
reckoning after leader Lewis Hamilton and second-placed Mark Webber opened up a
decent gap following their one-two last time out in Spa.
This year's new scoring system, including 25 points for a win, means drivers
can make big leaps in the standings in one race but time is running out with
Hamilton 35 points ahead of McLaren team mate Button in fourth and 41 above Alonso
in fifth.
"Another DNF (did not finish) or problem in a race would be maybe bye-bye
to the championship," 2005 and 2006 world champion Alonso told a news
conference on Thursday.
"The less races until the end of the season the more problems you have if
you have a bad weekend. One of the last chances will come here or Singapore (in
the next race)."
The Spaniard is racing for Ferrari for the first time in their home Grand Prix
and was greeted by hundreds of screaming fans as he made his way to the track
in a bright red Fiat 500.
The pressure on him to do well at one of F1's fastest and most famous venues
means those same starry-eyed supporters could witness a riveting contest where
defending champion Button must also go for broke.
"I'm in a different position to last year, now I'm the man chasing, but I
have a more competitive car than I did at the end of last season," said
the Briton, also thinking of Singapore.
"Obviously if I don't finish both races, I've got a problem."
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in third trails team mate Webber by 28 points and
2008 world champion Hamilton by 31 after committing mistakes in his last two
outings.
"There's no need to panic or to rush. Thirty points sounds bigger than it
is, anything can happen," the German told reporters. "The secret is
not to think about too many things."
PS.Remember the predictions this weekend.
Craig Botha
--
This list is meant for F1 related emails. Banter and trolling is allowed. However, if you take any of the banter seriously or personally, that is entirely your problem. We will not take responsibility for any psychological damage :-)
BE WARNED: FOUL/DIRTY LANGUAGE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!