Alonso: I need to learn to drive in midfield

Despite being in his seventh season in Formula 1, Fernando Alonso has insisted he is having to learn all over again in 2008 – the etiquette of midfield driving, that is.

Having spent five of his previous six campaigns right at the sharp end of proceedings with Renault and McLaren-Mercedes – claiming back-to-back drivers' world crowns with the former in 2005 and 2006 – the Spaniard is finding himself forced to re-adjust to life in the lower reaches of the grid this year, as the Régie's new challenger continues to be a long way off the front-running pace. He is adamant the experience – whilst undeniably disheartening – will help to further hone his racing skills.

“This year has so far been frustrating,” he admitted in an interview with the Daily Express, “but in a way it is a new challenge and I need to learn from it.

“Right now we're always in the middle of the group, starting in tenth or eleventh which is very difficult – fighting, overtaking. I need to learn from it and then by the end of the year I will be a better driver.”

The 26-year-old finished a combative – if somewhat fortuitous – fourth in the attrition-riven Australian Grand Prix before scraping a further point in Malaysia, but Bahrain last time out was to yield only ninth place. This time twelve months ago he was jointly leading the world championship with 22 points; this time around he has just six, leaving him all the way down in ninth position.

Indeed, Renault's points tally is even worse than it was at the same stage in 2007 – what was then deemed to be a disastrous showing on the back of the Enstone-based concern's title-winning form in the previous two seasons – but whilst acknowledging that the R28's performance has fallen dramatically below expectations, Alonso is hopeful he will not be mired down in the mid-grid scrap for too long.

“I was expecting a bad race [in Bahrain],” he admitted, “and it was a very bad race. It was very, very difficult, but then we knew it would be like that because all weekend was very bad, other than getting into the final qualifying session, which was a nice surprise. The rest of it was not good enough, not up to our levels.

“There is a new package for the test ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix and we are confident we will improve the car, but it is a question of how much the others improve as well.”

crash.net