SINGAPORE (AP) - Formula One leader Fernando Alonso and title contender Mark Webber of Red Bull say this week’s Singapore Grand Prix could be the turning point of the season, ending McLaren’s recent dominance.
McLaren has won the past three races, but Ferrari and Red Bull are hoping the nature of the circuit in Singapore and upcoming races offsets McLaren’s advantage.
“It is true McLaren are in very good form and are favorites 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 has earmarked Singapore and the following two races in Japan and South Korea as the decisive period of the season.
Alonso holds a handy 37-point buffer atop the standings despite not winning since the German GP, and is enjoying the luxury of that lead.
“I’m not under pressure at all,” Alonso said. “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.”
One of those others is Webber, whose title challenge has faltered since winning the British GP, having taken only 16 points from the past four grand prix races.
A win this weekend would re-invigorate his title challenge, and the Australian believes a departure from the low-downforce circuits of Europe to the twisting Asian layouts will provide a shift in power among the front runners.
“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.
“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 McLaren’s Jenson Button said the tight confines of Singapore’s Marina Bay track should not hamper the team’s victory chances.
“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.”
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