Fernando Alonso has denied that the new Circuit of the Americas is an advantage in his Championship battle with Sebastian Vettel, as the Spaniard continues to strive to thwart the reigning World Champion. With no one driver having driven the new track in anger, all 24 drivers will require extensive practice laps in the early stages of the weekend.
However, with the 24-car field theoretically equal when it comes to track knowledge, Fernando Alonso believes there is no advantage to be gained by visiting a new venue at such a crucial stage in the Championship. The Ferrari driver is confident of a successful race weekend at the United States Grand Prix, which should create the perfect setting for what should be a grand finale at the Brazilian Grand Prix next weekend.
“I don’t think it’s an advantage for it to be a new circuit.” Explained Fernando Alonso, “I think we all will adapt very quickly in first practice and we all have simulators and everything that we use to prepare for the race, so I think that’s more or less the same as every other race. Confident? I’m very confident, I trust my team, I trust myself. We are honest with ourselves, we know that we don’t have the quickest package out there. We were leading the Championship until three races ago and we are ten points behind the leader. Our strong point is to score more points than the others on Sunday and I’m sure we will do this in the next two races.”
Although Sebastian Vettel can be crowned Champion this weekend, Fernando Alonso need only finish within 15 points of the reigning Champion to keep his Championship hopes alive for the final race in Brazil. The Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo has been the venue for many nail-biting Championship encounters in the past, and 2012 could well become the latest thrilling episode around the Brazilian circuit.
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