SINGAPORE: Ferrari's Fernando Alonso said on Friday that his team's gentler use of their tyres could give him an edge on Sebastian Vettel in Singapore -- and prolong the fight for the world championship.
The two-times champion was two-tenths of a second adrift of Red Bull's championship-chasing German in Friday evening's floodlit second practice session ahead of Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix.
"Our long run pace was OK. Normally here we face high tyre degradation which is good for us because our car seems to take care of the tyres better than some others," said Spain's Alonso.
"If there is tyre degradation, maybe we have an opportunity. Last year, on Friday we had a few problems and then in qualifying we were up there. I hope tomorrow it's similar and we are fighting for the best positions.
"But we are realistic and today we saw a very strong Red Bull, so it's not going to be easy. But let's hope that things change for the better. Maybe they can."
Alonso has won twice before in the Singapore heat and is hoping to record a third win in Sunday's showdown at the Marina Bay circuit where he resisted Vettel last year. Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren is the only other previous winner.
"We are more or less happy with the car, but here it is difficult to exploit the potential of the car when you have only one or two laps from the tyres at maximum performance," Alonso added.
"There is always the traffic, (and) on this occasion there was also the red and yellow flags. So I think that the times maybe are a little mixed up. I'm sure that there are some quick guys who didn't perform because of these factors and there are some other guys that are maybe up in the front, but will struggle a bit more tomorrow."
While Alonso clung to his hope that he can emerge triumphant, Hamilton expressed fears that Vettel and Red Bull would be too quick.
Hamilton, who was third fastest, said: "Friday is really difficult to determine -- there is a big gap between us and Sebastian right now and I suspect tomorrow there will be a big gap in qualifying, unless there is a big difference in fuel loads.
"I definitely think getting them at the moment will be very difficult. It's not impossible, but with the pace he has right now it looks pretty tough. Fuel load and tyres can make a huge difference though, so I'm still optimistic.
"I don't know what Ferrari was running, but I pray they have gone light too."
He said sheer pace and good tyre management would be crucial on Sunday.
"The key for victory is sheer pace. Positioning and qualifying are very important and then after that looking after your tyres is really the key so we have to make some adjustments to see if we can try and reduce the sliding we have," he said.
The two-times champion was two-tenths of a second adrift of Red Bull's championship-chasing German in Friday evening's floodlit second practice session ahead of Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix.
"Our long run pace was OK. Normally here we face high tyre degradation which is good for us because our car seems to take care of the tyres better than some others," said Spain's Alonso.
"If there is tyre degradation, maybe we have an opportunity. Last year, on Friday we had a few problems and then in qualifying we were up there. I hope tomorrow it's similar and we are fighting for the best positions.
"But we are realistic and today we saw a very strong Red Bull, so it's not going to be easy. But let's hope that things change for the better. Maybe they can."
Alonso has won twice before in the Singapore heat and is hoping to record a third win in Sunday's showdown at the Marina Bay circuit where he resisted Vettel last year. Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren is the only other previous winner.
"We are more or less happy with the car, but here it is difficult to exploit the potential of the car when you have only one or two laps from the tyres at maximum performance," Alonso added.
"There is always the traffic, (and) on this occasion there was also the red and yellow flags. So I think that the times maybe are a little mixed up. I'm sure that there are some quick guys who didn't perform because of these factors and there are some other guys that are maybe up in the front, but will struggle a bit more tomorrow."
While Alonso clung to his hope that he can emerge triumphant, Hamilton expressed fears that Vettel and Red Bull would be too quick.
Hamilton, who was third fastest, said: "Friday is really difficult to determine -- there is a big gap between us and Sebastian right now and I suspect tomorrow there will be a big gap in qualifying, unless there is a big difference in fuel loads.
"I definitely think getting them at the moment will be very difficult. It's not impossible, but with the pace he has right now it looks pretty tough. Fuel load and tyres can make a huge difference though, so I'm still optimistic.
"I don't know what Ferrari was running, but I pray they have gone light too."
He said sheer pace and good tyre management would be crucial on Sunday.
"The key for victory is sheer pace. Positioning and qualifying are very important and then after that looking after your tyres is really the key so we have to make some adjustments to see if we can try and reduce the sliding we have," he said.
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