Fernando Alonso ready to test his 2013 challenger

picture courtesy Scuderia Ferrari

Fernando Alonso has spent a long time away from the cockpit of his car and is rearing to get back in at the second pre season test at Barcelona due to start tomorrow. Amid speculation that he was nursing a rib injury he sustained while karting at Ferrari's annual Vroom event, the lead pilot of Scuderia Ferrari is set to have his F138 for three out of the four days of testing. Massa will take over testing duties on the fourth and final day of the second test to evaluate the improvements made to the car after the first test session.






After missing out on the first test at Jerez where his team mate Massa set the fastest time of all by 4/10th's of a second Alonso will be waiting to see compare his 2013 challenger to the F2012 he last drove in Brazil last year, where he missed out on the World Drivers Championship by just three points. Alonso has been focusing on his physical preparation by alternating between gym session, running and biking in the deserts of The Emirate of Dubai.

picture courtesy Scuderia Ferrari

The feedback from Massa has been positive yet cautious, with the Brazilian saying that, "The F138 is a much better starting base than the F2012, but only constant development work will say whether the car is better than our competitors." He shifted the attention on the pace of Button in the McLaren, who posted a time one second slower than Masssa's, but on day one of testing on a green track with no rubber laid down as yet.

Read my analysis of the times after the first test at Jerez here.

The last day of testing that saw Pedro de la Rosa debut for Ferrari as their test and simulator driver, was a bitter sweet event for him, with the Ferrari dying on him after just two installation laps and catching fire after a gear box failure. But with the Ferrari's boasting a reliability record that no other team can match, Fernando is not too worried about the gear box failure and will be focused on the job at hand, and that is to win the 2013 championship. With Massa having found his lost form Ferrari are looking good to challenge for both titles and to end Red Bull and Vettel's dominance of the sport.