Ferrari F1 driver Fernando Alonso has warned his rivals that the team is set to make giant strides in pace over the next few races.
The former champion has not won since the Bahrain season-opener, but is still fourth in the drivers' championship, just 15 points off leader Lewis Hamilton.
Now Ferrari is preparing to introduce significant upgrades for Valencia, which is understood to include a new exhaust system that will improve airflow over the rear aerodynamics.
Alonso reckons this step will put Ferrari back in contention.
"We will have major updates on the F10 which I hope will allow us to up our performance level," said Alonso.
"Following on from that, we have further developments in the pipeline which should arrive for England and Germany: which is to say that the European Grand Prix is simply the ninth round of the championship, not a last ditch effort for Ferrari, which I heard some people saying.
"I don't see how they can say that given that we have not even reached the halfway point of the season and that after Valencia there will still be ten grands prix to go.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again now, this is a stage event and the final one of those stages will not come until November in Abu Dhabi. There is still a long way to go and things can change very quickly, going either one way or the other."
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Re: Alonso: "I'm still in the title fight"
Here we go, the anti-alonso party! It's beginning to remind me of Hitlers poltical party. Be careful steve! All this hamilton bum sucking and juice swallowing is beginning to make you look like a racist. We'll see in due time if Alonso can wipe the floor of hamilton, but for now, let him have his say!
Re: Alonso: "I'm still in the title fight"
You could say certain things about Hamilton, but would probably get called racist
Re: Alonso: "I'm still in the title fight"
Come on, until Schumacher came back Alonso was F1's new baddy and every drama needs a bad guy! I personally hope these changes put him in contention as it'll make the fight to the title far more interesting. On the other hand, McLaren and RBR will probably turn up in Valencia with a few new bits so we'll see if the status quo is changed or not. Can't wait to see what happens in 8 days time.