Private teams out of the competition - Alonso

Fernando Alonso is sure he is in the right place with one of the four car manufacturers in formula one. At the end of 2014, the Spaniard switched from Ferrari to the new McLaren-Honda project, insisting that he could not face more years of finishing second.

"In 2014 I could not fight for the podium as they (Ferrari) are doing now," Alonso told the Spanish sports newspaper AS, "but in my five years with Ferrari I often arrived at the last race leading the championship so I really do not see the improvement. They are in good shape and are contenders for the championship, which is great, but we were not the contenders, we were leading the championship at the last race," the 34-year-old insisted.

When asked about his replacement - Sebastian Vettel - at Ferrari, Alonso suggested he has no hard feelings and said both of them are in good places for the future. "He is in a good place, younger and motivated and the car is close to the best," Alonso said of Vettel.

"I think the trend now with the new formula one is that Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda will win the championships because the private teams can not. With such an important engine (formula), only the parent team can win. So if Renault and McLaren-Honda improve sufficiently they will have the opportunity to win because the private teams are out of the competition," he added. (GMM)