However, with the teams testing several set-ups during Day 1, focusing on understating the behavior of the Pirelli tires and also trying to get a first glimpse of the adjustable rear wing evolution, Alonso believes no team has shown its true worth so far. The last practice session on Saturday, followed by qualifying, will become the starting point of the new season, argued the Spaniard.
“Nothing new yet and what else would you expect?” rhetorically asked the 2-time world champion after the second practice session in Melbourne. “These two free practice sessions have not actually revealed the real relative strengths of the teams.”
“This morning Red Bull went well and in the afternoon it was McLaren's turn, with us and Mercedes always in the mix, while Williams and Renault also seem competitive. There are so many teams who could be in with a chance of going for the win and therefore it's obvious that it will be necessary to have a good Saturday, without any mistakes if you want to start from the front row.”
However, both Alonso and teammate Felipe Massa, who posted the 7th quickest time of FP2, agreed that the behavior of the Pirelli tires is quite unpredictable, and the only solution to tackle this problem is a flexible race strategy on Sunday.
“We will need to be very flexible during the race, because at the moment, we know too little about the tires to be able to say with certainty on which lap it will be best to stop. From what we have seen today, maybe we can do ten laps on one set of tires, or maybe thirty!” added Alonso.
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