• Spanish Grand Prix

Alonso aiming to close gap to Red Bull at Barcelona

Fernando Alonso: "We are optimistic and confident and we intend to be fighting with them soon" © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Spanish Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Fernando Alonso

• Teams:
• Ferrari
• |
• Red Bull

Fernando Alonso is hoping this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix will be a turning point in Ferrari's season and his team will begin to reel in championship leaders Red Bull.

Alonso took his first podium of the season in Turkey two weeks ago, but is expecting his car to be even quicker this weekend as more updates are introduced.

"We had new parts in Turkey and made a step forward, and we have the second stage of those parts here," he said in the press conference on Thursday. "We are optimistic and confident and we intend to be fighting with them soon."

He said Ferrari was focusing on improving its qualifying performance in particular, where he has yet to get within 0.8 seconds of Sebastian Vettel's pole times this season.

"Anything can happen in Formula One. For sure, Red Bull has been very dominant in the first part of the championship. It was difficult to beat them in the race, and nearly impossible to beat them in qualifying. But we want to change this, starting here in Barcelona."

However, the Circuit de Catalunya was one of Red Bull's strongest tracks last year, with Alonso 0.942 seconds off Mark Webber's pole position time in qualifying. The Ferrari driver said he would be disappointed if the gap is as large this year.

"It's true the gap was one second last year - and this year it was even more than that at some tracks. But we are working hard and think the gap will close. I would be disappointed if it is a second again. We try to make some time again this weekend."

And he reiterated that Ferrari is by no means out of the championship chase.

"It's up to us to recover this gap," he said. "It's up to us to have a more competitive car than Red Bull and win races. If we do that, the championship is long to recover the gap and [there are] still plenty of races. But to do any reaction and recovery in terms of points, you need to have the best car.

"It has happened many years. It happened in 2006 to me. I remember after Canada I had 35 points to Michael [Schumacher], which is 75 or 80 points of today and Michael had two points more than me with two races to go. Any gap you can catch up, but you need to have the best car in one part of the championship, so we are working on that."

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