F1: We Did The Maximum In Qualifying, Says Alonso

Formula 1

F1: We Did The Maximum In Qualifying, Says Alonso

Fernando Alonso is second in the World Championship with three races left...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted November 03, 2012 Abu Dhabi (ARE)

Fernando Alonso is widely respected by his peers. (Photo: Getty Images)

Fernando Alonso was surprisingly upbeat after qualifying only seventh in Abu Dhabi, insisting that he had gotten the maximum out of the car on Saturday.

Alonso moves up from seventh to sixth after Sebastian Vettel sent to back of Abu Dhabi grid.

“It was a perfect qualifying for us; we did the maximum,” said the Spaniard. “We went through Q1 OK, through Q2 OK. Then I did 41.5 in Q2, 41.5s first attempt in Q3, 41.5s second attempt in Q3. That’s the limit, and I think we struck the maximum again.

“The car was good, we are seventh and ninth, the three laps were perfect. If there are people faster than us, we need to see and we need to accept it. There is nothing we can do, and we need to work hard for the next one.”

Regarding Vettel having a less-than-perfect day, the Ferrari driver said: “Always these things help in terms of championship hopes, but it’s better if these things happen on Sunday, not on Saturday only. There are still three important Sundays, there are 75 points to play, and hopefully we score 14 more than him.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.