McLaren lead both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships after the Spanish grand prix, but both silver clad pilots on Sunday had to admit that Ferrari’s pace is superior at present.
“They are a little bit quicker than us; qualifying and in the race especially,” said Fernando Alonso, who is second in the standings behind his rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari chiefs, however, left Barcelona acknowledging their own deficits, after confirming that Kimi Raikkonen’s terminal failure was a wiring fault in the alternator.
Kimi’s teammate Felipe Massa dominated the pace in Spain, meaning that the only time a red car has failed to win this year was Malaysia.
A Maranello-built car has also secured pole at all four race meetings so far in 2007.
But team boss Jean Todt, reflecting on rival McLaren’s perfect record with its MP4-22, said: “Twice this year we have been missing reliability.
“We know that it is one of the indispensable ingredients for winning the championship.”
