Reigning Formula One champion Fernando Alonso said on Tuesday the press are to blame for focusing in on a comment last week that the thing he likes most about his McLaren-Mercedes is the colour.
Alonso also said in pre-season Spanish testing in Jerez that the car of his new team, after successive titles with Renault, has ”some way to go” before it can deliver victories in the new season, starting next month in Australia.
But after testing on the Catalunya circuit this week, he insists he is ”optimistic” of his chances of further title glory.
”It got interpreted as something bad,” the champion said of his throwaway comment made as he first started getting to grips with the new car, adding the media had made him look ”not very professional” with his remark.
”Things are going well, but the Ferraris are running along well too,” he added in allusion to the fastest times of the day by Felipe Massa, who outpaced teammate Kimi Raikkonen by more than half a second after both had technical problems on Monday.
This time, Massa turned in 108 laps and Raikkonen 154. — Sapa-AFP