Fernando Alonso’s faltering bid for a third Formula One title will take another blow if he fails to finish ahead of championship leader Sebastian Vettel at the Italian Grand Prix.
Alonso is 46 points behind Vettel in second place but will have the backing from the fervent fans on Sunday at Monza – considered manufacturer Ferrari’s home race.
But he will need more than that, as Ferrari must qualify strongly in order to pressure Vettel on a track where the last three winners and five of the past six started from pole position.
Bad news for Alonso, who has not qualified higher than third.
Although the Spaniard drove impressively at the Belgian GP two weeks ago, finishing second, he has not won since the Spanish GP in May.
“In Monza, the characteristics of the track should help our performance. We have everything in place,” Alonso said Thursday.
Team principal Stefano Domenicali increased the pressure this week saying that Ferrari has two races to close the gap or focus on developing next season’s car.
The regulations change dramatically in 2014 with the introduction of new 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines.
“Two wins isn’t something we can put as a target,” said Alonso, who has won only two races this season.
“More realistic is to finish in front of Sebastian.
“If we can’t, if we keep losing points, then we need to think about 2014 because (there will be) only six races left with a massive gap.”
Felipe Massa also needs results to keep his Ferrari seat next year. The Brazilian has only one podium finish this season, third in Barcelona.
His possible replacement, Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, needs to get back to form after a disappointing race in Spa, where he dropped down from second to fourth overall behind Lewis Hamilton after brake failure.
“We had such a long period of time with the best reliability of all, so it was only natural that one day luck would go against us,” the Finnish driver said.
The 2007 F1 champion has won 20 races in his career, but never at Monza, the fastest circuit on the calendar.
It is 5.83km long and features four long straights where drivers reach speeds of 330 km/h.