Fernando Alonso is refusing to get too confident about Ferrari's title prospects despite its strong performance in winter testing.
Ferrari has been tipped as a title favorite as the 2010 season gets under way in Bahrain this weekend, but although he has declared the Italian team's car the best he has ever driven, Alonso insisted he could not predict how it would compare to its rivals.
"We are not comparing too much the times in winter or making any predictions for this first race – we are concentrating on our program, trying to be as good as possible for the first race," he said. "I think the four teams, Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, any of the four teams can be a favorite for this race and the first part of the championship. And teams like Sauber and Force India will have very good races as well.
"We will do our best, we are well prepared but we want to be World Champions in November – not March. The goal is to win the championship, this is not easy at all and we need to work very hard for 10 months."
The two-time World Champion added that he was delighted with how well he had settled in at Ferrari, and felt ready to fight for wins again after two seasons as an underdog with Renault.
"I think every time you change teams you need to adapt a little yourself to the new people and the new philosophy of working," Alonso said. "It has been a great time so far, I am very comfortable with the team from day one to now, we will go to the first race with a good preparation and ready for the fight.
"I think I am ready to win, every time you arrive at the first race of a championship you have been preparing yourself all winter for this moment, I have been preparing for this moment, so now I feel ready to fight and hopefully we are in a position to do that."