Fernando Alonso has said that despite any problems that Ferrari have had performing in front of their home crowd at this weekend’s Italian GP, he is still motivated by the support shown by their fans.
The Spaniard was the closest rival to pack leaders Mercedes, as well as team-mate Kimi Raikkonen also performing well during Friday and Saturday practice. However, the pace shown did not translate into an overall strong grid position.
Raikkonen qualified 12th, but will start 11th after Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat grid penalty, and Alonso made it into Q3 but was only seventh, 1.3 seconds off pole man Lewis Hamilton.
But Alonso is refusing to give up on the Scuderia having a strong performance in tomorrow’s race. He believes the support from fans will help to a fifth consecutive podium finish at Monza as a Ferrari driver.
“It’s OK,” he said after qualifying. “In the end, I’m happy.
“I have a huge support here, the people are crazy about Ferrari. They hope a Ferrari will win.
“They will see me qualify seventh, but it doesn’t matter. Tomorrow they think that you will win.
“That motivates me a lot. Hopefully we can give them something in return.”
