Formula One leader Fernando Alonso and title contender Mark Webber say this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix could be the turning point of the season, ending McLaren’s recent dominance.
McLaren drivers have won the past three races, but both Ferrari and Red Bull are hoping the nature of the circuit in Singapore and following races should negate McLaren’s advantages.
“It is true McLaren are in very good form and are favourites after the last two or three results, but it is up to us to improve a little bit the pace and let’s see what we can do,” Alonso said.
Ferrari engineers see Singapore and the following two races in Japan and South Korea as the decisive period of the season.
Alonso has 179 points for a handy 37-point buffer atop the standings despite not winning since the German GP.
“I’m not under pressure at all,” Alonso said with the comfort of three wins.
“We have five or six contenders for the championship and seven races to go. It will be tight until the last race but I’m probably the only one who can afford one mistake or one retire, the others cannot.”
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton is second with 142 points, followed by Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen (141), Red Bull’s defending champion Sebastian Vettel (140) and his teammate Webber (132).
The Australian has won two races this year but his challenge has faltered with a yield of only 16 points from the past four rounds.
Now fifth in the standings, he believes a departure from the low-downforce circuits of Europe to the twistier Asian layouts can provide a shift in fortunes.
“We are going back to a configuration that we are going to do the remainder of the season on,” Webber said.
“We will have a reset in terms of the pecking order, which we certainly will like, but how much that changes around remains to be seen.
“We are sitting here like we are at a funeral, but we are still leading the constructors’ championship.
“It’s very, very tight. I will be very, very surprised if the next three or four races we will see someone dominating.”
Asked about whether McLaren can extend its winning streak, Webber said: “Let’s see how they go on the high downforce stuff.”
McLaren did win on the stop-start Hungaroring and Button, also the winner of two races this year, said the tight confines of Singapore’s Marina Bay street circuit should not hamper the team.
“The car worked well in Hungary and at Hockenheim which are high downforce circuits,” Button said. “There is no reason why we won’t be competitive here.”
