Alonso plays down title talk

30/08/2012

Despite being most people's favourite for the 2012 title, Fernando Alonso isn't convinced, pointing out that there's still a long, long way to go... even if rivals Hamilton and Vettel are unconvinced.

Going into this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix with a 40-point lead, and being the only driver to have won three races and score points in every race, despite not having the best car, many believe the title is the Spaniard's to lose.

However, at his team's press conference the two-time champion refused to get carried away, telling reporters that the title is far from settled.

"Two or three bad races can make you lose everything," he said. "In terms of performance, I think of the contenders or the guys who are at the front we are clearly the slowest. We have a points advantage, a performance disadvantage so I don't think we are any favourites."

"He would say that, wouldn't he?" laughed Lewis Hamilton when subsequently told of the Spaniard's comment. "He's just positioning himself in a nice way," added the Englishman, whose win in Hungary took him to within 47 points of his former teammate. "I am going to say the same thing... my car is definitely the slowest out of the top four teams. So we'll see what we can do with it."

"He is leading so he is the favourite," said Sebastian Vettel when he was informed of Alonso's claim. "He is not leading just because someone wrote a cheque and gave him the amount of points.

"I think he deserves to lead," he added. "If you look at the beginning of the season, starting at winter testing, Ferrari had a lot of criteria. And then I think they got their act together, built a very competitive car and have been very competitive in all circumstances and conditions."