Ferrari's Fernando Alonso admitted he'd been pitched into a "mini-championship" after a mistake from Kimi Raikkonen shattered his big lead in the Formula One standings
The 31-year-old Spaniard, the champion in 2005 and 2006, said he had no idea what Raikkonen was doing when he hit his rear wheel on the first corner at the Japanese Grand Prix, sending him out with a puncture just seconds into the race.
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“I think one time I will retire, maybe next time Vettel will retire, you never know. That’s motorsport,” said Alonso.
“It’s five races to go. It will be like a mini-championship because we start with the same points and we need to score one point more (than him) in five races. So, we will try to do it.”
He added: “We have five races and they will be like five finals, five championships — a big fight every time now.”
Drivers’ standings:
1. Fernando Alonso 194 pts
2. Sebastian Vettel 190
3. Kimi Raikkonen 157
4. Lewis Hamilton 152
5. Mark Webber 134u00a0