Ferrari planning aggressive car development

Alonso's Ferrari in Barcelona. Ferrari just cannot keep pace with Red Bull right now, nor can anyone else.

Fernando Alonso has warned that the Ferrari team is preparing an extensive car update prior to upcoming races on the calendar. The Spaniard finished second in his home Grand Prix on Sunday but understands that the red cars are currently lacking in raw pace when compared to rivals such as Red Bull Racing.

Delighted to have finished on the podium in front of his home crowd for the first time since 2007, Alonso admitted after the Spanish Grand Prix that he would have crossed the line fourth, had it not been for problems which Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton experienced. However, the Oviedo man is confident that Ferrari will soon enjoy a dramatic step up.

Well, regarding the improvements, there is a very aggressive plan of developing the car with some good gains and good improvements to come in the next races, so we are very optimistic about that," Alonso explained in Barcelona's post-race press conference on Sunday afternoon.

"The championship is long. There will be some circuits where we will be closer to Red Bull and some circuits, like this weekend, where we know it's going to be more difficult but overall, for the 19 races, I think we have a package and a car that can fight for the World Championship, which is the main goal."

However, with the quickest Ferrari having been almost a full second down on the leading Red Bull in Saturday's qualifying session, Fernando insists that the Maranello squad understands its weakest points.

"We know the areas which will give aerodynamic improvements," the former double Champion continued. "Basically, I think, we saw this weekend here in Barcelona how important the aerodynamics of the car are and we were struggling a little bit more than we wanted; it's just a very early part of the championship, though, and it's better to be in the first three or four positions than to be eighth or ninth."