Alonso: Five teams and even a Toro Rosso

Despite Ferrari being billed as one of the favourites for this year's Championship, Fernando Alonso says we'll have to wait until Australia to know the truth

Ferrari and reigning Champions Red Bull have led the way during the first 11 days of pre-season testing, proving to have reliable and quick cars, often registering near the front of the timesheets, if not at the very front.

This has prompted many in the paddock to state that they are the favourites to win this year's World titles.

Alonso, though, reckons it's still too early to say who will be on top as there could be a few surprises.

"We will only really know where we stand compared to the others when we are in Melbourne," said the double World Champion.

"At the moment, I am happy because we proved to have a reliable car.

"If all goes to plan, we will be in the group of teams capable of fighting for the title, along with Red Bull the reigning Champions, McLaren, Mercedes and also Renault, who had already made a step forward towards the end of last season.

"Even Toro Rosso has made significant progress."

And like many of his rivals, the Spaniard believes the title could be decided by the new Pirelli tyres.

The rubber, which suffers high wear, has been one of the hot topics ahead of the new season as it promises to offer varied strategies and multiple pit stops.

"From what we have seen so far, degradation is very significant, which means we will have races with lots of pit stops," Alonso told Ferrari's website.

"I'm not keen on that because I think this increased uncertainty does not favour the strongest teams: it's as if in football, it was decided to have a penalty per team each half hour in which case Barcelona and Real Madrid would not be jumping for joy.

"However, the situation is the same for everyone: it will be important to be fastest because I don't think we can make one stop less than our main rivals."

Source: Planet-F1