Alonso thinks Brawn GP pace is real

Fernando Alonso believes that the pace shown by Brawn GP in testing at the Circuit de Catalunya is indicative of the former Honda team’s true pace.

Ross Brawn’s team spent the first two days of the test towards the top end of the timesheets, before Jenson Button set the fastest time of the week so far.

Alonso says that the team under new management’s pace is real, as he listed the cars he believes are ahead of the others at the moment, leaving out his former employees McLaren, who have struggled in Barcelona.

"It is difficult to judge now although Toyota, Ferrari, BMW or Brawn are very fast," Alonso was quoted as saying by Spanish daily Diario AS. "The competition is very tough and all [the teams] are working well, with good progression. It is clear that three or four are in front of the rest."

Alonso added that, for his Renault team the pace of "Ferrari, Brawn or BMW is, for now, unattainable."

There are worries for Alonso's former team, McLaren. After Heikki Kovalainen struggled on Monday and Tuesday in Barcelona, Lewis Hamilton took over but finished bottom of Wednesday's timesheets.

However, the Spaniard insists that there could be any number of reasons for McLaren's lack of pace.

"That is difficult to analyze," he said of the Mercedes-powered team's poor times. "They have had proven cars and have proven pilots. It isn't going very well for them, although this does not mean anything at the moment." Setanta.com