‘My motivation is better than ever’

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The inaugural edition of the Grand Prix of India was all about Sebastian Vettel and his dominant display of “Grand Chelem” – pole, victory and the fastest lap, with the 2011 title already won.

The championship standing this year though, bears a different look with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso breathing down the neck of Vettel, who has a narrow six point lead.
Alonso promises an aggressive approach in his bid to reclaim the top spot, which he held till the Korean Grand Prix, where he was overtaken.
The Spaniard could do nothing about being taken out at the first corner of the Japanese GP, but found himself bested by Red Bull last week at Yeongam, finishing third.
Alonso said he wasn’t ready to give up until the battle reached the chequered flag. “My motivation is better than ever — and it’s not just me, as the whole team is very motivated.
“We have struggled all year with our car, especially in the first part of the season but, now, with four races to go, we are going on full attack for the last month. Everyone in the team wants this championship,” said Alonso.
Acknowledging that his Ferrari had seldom been the best car in the field, Alonso said his consistency had kept him afloat in the title fight.
“At the moment, Red Bull have the fastest car, especially on Saturday qualifying. They will try and make the most of this strong point and we will try to use our strong points. I think it will be a battle of packages and a matter of pushing everything to the limits now — the car development, the strategy and the approach to the weekends,” said Alonso.
“We were leading the championship till the last race in Korea, thanks mainly to our consistency. We had 16 perfect races and we just need another four perfect races. If we can have another four perfect races, I think we will be very close to winning the championship.”
Having won the last three races — Singapore, Japan and Korea — the ‘favourite’ tag will be on Vettel, but he is adamant against taking anything for granted.
“We had a good last couple of races but the championship fight has been up and down throughout the season. So anything can happen. I think we have to focus on ourselves, need to have our best possible results and then we go from there,” said the 25-year-old.
He might be in contention to win his third championship in a row, but records and titles, Vettel says, don’t matter to him.