Having qualified ninth for the Bahrain GP, Fernando Alonso is hoping to at least move up two or three places as he makes use of his free tyre choice.
After opting not to put in a lap in Q3, Alonso can opt to start the 57-lap grand prix on either Pirelli compound; the soft or the mediums.
That choice, though, looks set to be the Spaniard's only advantage as once again Ferrari are sorely lacking in pace.
"Today, we were worth a place somewhere between eighth and twelfth, so ninth on the grid fits in with our current level," said the double World Champ
"Honestly, given the characteristics of this track, which are definitely not suited to our current car, so far the weekend has not in fact gone that badly.
"To be in with a chance of making it to Q3, we had to use all three sets of Soft tyres available, so we didn't have any left for the final part of the session.
"Doing a time on used tyres would have made no sense and would have forced us to start with a set of tyres that already had a few laps on them. Now we are free to choose either the Medium or the Soft for the start of a race that looks like being very hard, especially on tyres.
"To date, we have always gone a bit better on Sunday than Saturday: let's hope it's the same situation in Bahrain.
"Tomorrow, we must try and manage the tyres as well as possible, making the most of having three sets of new Mediums. The start will also be important, because it would be useful to make up some places right away, given that, for us, overtaking is certainly not straightforward."
As for his goal for Sunday's grand prix, round four of the Championship, he said: "To finish in the points, around sixth or seventh place. I know, it's not brilliant, but that's what we can do with the car we have today."
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