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| Fernando Alonso, Ferrari f1, formula one, wallpaper, poster, hot |
This, despite a mercy dash by several of the team's top brass to their Maranello headquarters after last Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.
It was hoped a gentle nudge to the staff back at the Prancing Horse's nervecentre could go some way to turning the corner, but two-time world champion Alonso does not envisage there being a fast fix this weekend.
The Ferraris of Alonso & team-mate Felipe Massa were around a second slower than the pace-setting Red Bulls & McLarens in qualifying at the opening rounds of the campaign - a statistic that left the pair floundering in the pack come the races & without a podium finish to their credit.
"There is not much time to alter cars so I expect difficult pace, a difficult weekend again. The race is long," he said after finishing sixth in Sepang, place behind Massa.
"We arrive in China knowing that it will be difficult but they will have some opportunities if they do things right."
Having appeared to be Red Bull's nearest challenger in pre-season testing, Ferrari's dismal qualifying pace thus far has arguably been the largest surprise of the campaign's opening weeks - eclipsing even McLaren's upturn after turning in some woefully underwhelming testing times.
At least in race trim the new Ferrari appears to have some grunt, with Alonso enjoying lovely tussles with both Red Bull's Mark Webber & McLaren's Lewis Hamilton last Sunday, albeit aided by the fact the Australian had lost his KERS & the Briton was battling excessive tyre wear.
"In Australia they were not fast in qualifying, [while] in the race they were struggling a lot & were 40-50 seconds behind the leader.
"We need to keep working in a lovely direction as they did [in Malaysia]," Alonso continued.
"I left Sepang much more happy because they were fighting with them. They did not expect to be fighting with them, so there is a positive atmosphere now in the team."
Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo has tipped his team to dredge up an "amazing response" to their early-season issues.
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| Fernando Alonso, Ferrari f1, formula one, wallpaper, poster, hot |
"I am definitely not satisfied with the way the season has begun, but I have complete faith in the people here," Di Montezemolo told Ferrari's official web-site.
"I am sure there will be an wonderful response. I do know everyone is working flat out & I have great faith in the human & technical strengths of our people.
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| Fernando Alonso, Ferrari f1, formula one, wallpaper, poster, hot |
Looking ahead to China, however, Di Montezemolo shared Alonso's caution, saying: "I hope they see some improvement, in qualifying.
"I think the period when the most they can hope for is a podium will soon come to an finish."
"But I think that will be difficult as I don't think Ferrari can turn it around in the space of a week."
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