Alonso unfazed by setbacks

MONZA, Italy, Sept 7, 2012 (AFP) - Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso said on Friday that he was not worried by the mechanical setbacks that hit his Ferrari in practice ahead of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.

The 31-year-old Spaniard suffered an engine failure during morning free practice and then brake and gearbox problems in the afternoon's second
session.

He and his Ferrari team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa wound up third and fourth fastest for the day behind the two McLarens of Britons Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

"You know, it is not that much of a problem," said Alonso, who leads the drivers standings by 24 points from Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

"Sometimes this happens. It is a strange thing this time, a strange Friday because of the mechanical failures, but it is not a big setback.

"Sometimes, we push some parts to the limit or have some experimental things on Friday that you need to get some mileage, some experience. Really,
you know I don't think it is any kind of problem at all.

"What we need to concentrate on is the performance for tomorrow (Saturday).

"I think McLaren looked very strong again today (Friday), so we need to find something extra for tomorrow, and then we'll see.

"I think it will be an interesting weekend. The weather should be stable all weekend so that should help us to be very precise and maximise the
performance of the car."

Alonso said that the team learned a lot after having so few dry Fridays recently.

"I think they were good sessions," he said.

"Obviously it's extremely important for example what we learned from Felipe, when you have a session that you have to stop for any reason you have
to trust your teammate and all the information from the other car, so thanks to Felipe we will not miss any of the laps that we were not able to do.

"We need to improve the car, as I said. I think we are more or less happy with the performance. We don't need to change the car black to white for
tomorrow, which some Fridays we need to do.

"It's just small tweaks that we need."