Fernando Alonso says he will have to go on the attack at the Korean Grand Prix, as he reckons he cannot afford to lose any more ground to championship leader Mark Webber.
The Spaniard finished in third position in the previous race in Japan and, with Webber right in front, the Australian increased his lead in the standings to 14 points with just three races remaining. Ferrari driver Alonso is aware that he cannot afford the gap to increase again in Korea, which is why he has vowed to be aggressive. The Spaniard is also hoping to be able to count on teammate Felipe Massa's help, after a disappointing race from the Brazilian at Suzuka.
"In Korea, we will have to attack because now we must close the gap to Webber," said Alonso. "To lose any more ground would make the situation more complicated.
"The Korean Grand Prix could therefore start to be decisive for some – and for me it will be important also to be able to count on my teammate Felipe. I know that he will be really hoping to make up for two negative results and he has all the capacities required to return to the podium.
"What's more, it will be very useful to work together to discover all the secrets of the new track so we can prepare our cars in the best way. In a moment like this, every detail matters to achieve our goals."
Alonso insisted that he was happy with his result in Japan, despite finishing behind the two Red Bulls. But he made it clear that team cannot afford to not qualify strongly again.
"The outcome of the Japanese Grand Prix remains positive, even now in the cold light of day," he said. "We are in a phase of the season where one negative weekend can cost us dearly, and to come away with a good third place from a race that we expected to be difficult was important.
"We were certainly hoping that perhaps the situation would have been different in Suzuka, but we must not forget that it's a track that seems to have been designed to show off the qualities of the Red Bull. As early as Friday, we understood that it would be difficult and, even if we knew what was coming, there remains a bit of regret that we couldn't fight for the win. But now we must put the weekend behind us and concentrate on the next race, where we know that we must try to raise our level of performance: another fifth place in qualifying would certainly not help us."