Alonso brings down hype!

By role
May 8 2003

Fernanado Alonso is the man of the moment after his performance in the Spanish GP. Formula 1 insiders and a high percentage of the fans believe that the young Spaniards can be the next driver to challange the World Champion Michael Schumacher.

The expectations on Alonso start on his own team, Renault F1. Mike Gascoyne, Renault's F1 Technical Director, has rated Alonso at the same level that Michael Schumacher and above the level of current Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen.

Flavio Briatore, Team Manager, has also praised his young driver though he has tried to bring down the hype.

Alonso, however, wants to keep it cool:

"I am only 21 years old and I am fairly new to F1 and even to Renault. We showed that we can be amongst the best, with Ferrari for example, which have an enormous potential. It is again the Scuderia who is the favourite for the title. In Barcelona, we had an amazing weekend. In fact, it is not normal that we can be so close to Ferrari. I am not sure it will happen again. I don't think I can win my first GP and it is not my goal. We still need to improve."

Alonso, whp finished 2nd at his home GP in Spain nows that the team may struggle on the next Austrian GP. The A1 ring is a track in which power of engine is basic. The engine is up to know the weakest point in the Renault's package:

"For the next Austrian GP, we will have a slight engine evolution. Nothing extraordinary but it should help us improve once more. The team works non-stop and next race should confirm that we can battle for points every time and be on the podium when the opportunity is there."