• Brazilian Grand Prix - FP2

No Friday surprises, says Alonso

Fernando Alonso is not reading much into Friday's times © Getty Images

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• Report:
• Red Bull maintains advantage at Interlagos
  

• Race:
• Brazilian Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Fernando Alonso
• |
• Felipe Massa

• Teams:
• Ferrari

Fernando Alonso said there had again been no major surprises after Friday's free practice session after he finished third fastest behind the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

"As usual, it is very difficult to draw any conclusions after Friday's two free practice sessions," said Alonso. "In fact, the Red Bulls have always been dominant in the last six or seven Fridays, therefore there were no surprises today. Even when we have managed to take pole, they have been very competitive the previous day."

Although Ferrari's main competition will come from Red Bull and McLaren, Alonso also said it was important not to forget about some of the less fancied teams this weekend, especially with rain forecast.

"For us, it will be important to stay ahead of the McLarens and the other teams, who on this track could be in the mix: by that I mean Renault, Williams and Mercedes. Then, the forecast is for rain tomorrow and anything could happen. It will be vital to understand when and on what tyres to go out on track to set a time.

"We have introduced a few updates on the car which seems to be a positive step, even if we still need to analyse the data in depth. The engine change between the two sessions was already on the day's programme therefore, in reality I only lost a couple of laps, nothing more."

Team-mate Felipe Massa finished the day fifth fastest after losing time in the second session due to a clutch failure.

"I ran wide at Turn 2 and went over the kerb quite heavily: I immediately noticed that the clutch had disengaged and I was unable to select any gear to try and get back to the pits. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before: it was only when the car was brought back to the garage that we discovered it was an electrical problem," said Massa.

"It was a shame, because I was on my first run with the soft tyres and I had yet to fully understand how they were working. Overall, I feel we can be competitive this weekend. Sure, the Red Bulls are very strong, as are the McLarens. It is meant to rain tomorrow and, on a wet track, anything could happen."

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