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This afternoon, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso joined five of his fellow drivers in the FIA press conference at the Shanghai circuit that hosts this Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. The Spaniard's presence was prompted by the fact it is customary for the winner of the previous race to attend the Thursday event. However, Fernando made it clear he did not expect a repeat performance of Malaysia this weekend. "Nothing has changed since Malaysia and so I expect a tough weekend," he maintained. "There will be no big surprises, as although the car has some small improvements, there is nothing big coming for this race. I expect this is the same situation with the other teams, which is why I feel the general picture will be the same as at the last two races. This means we will struggle to get through into Q3 on Saturday and then on Sunday, we will be hoping to get a good start and then do a good job of tyre management."
Fernando, a past winner of this race also reminded his audience of another parameter that can affect the outcome. "We can also hope for a little bit of luck, because this is a factor we often forget but it is there, as we saw in Australia and then again in Malaysia where I was lucky to avoid a first corner accident. You need a big package to win and luck is part of it, so let's hope it stays with us for this weekend." A more tangible help would be rain on Sunday afternoon, even if the forecast only suggests showers for tomorrow, Friday. "Sure, if it was wet that would help, but even then it can go both ways, because you can either find yourself on the right tyre at the right moment or the wrong tyre at the wrong moment."
It was pointed out to the Ferrari man that his Sepang victory put him ahead of Jackie Stewart in the list of all-time GP winners, leaving only Schumacher, Prost, Senna and Mansell ahead of him. "I feel very privileged to be on that list of great drivers, whom I used to watch on TV when I was a kid" he said. "Now, I can say that I am having a good career and have driven for fantastic teams, but at the moment, records are not important, as I focus on the next race or on my daily life. But I'm sure that in ten or fifteen years I will appreciate these figures more than now."
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C. Sainz jr
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