Alonso gels well with the Ferrari team

Fernando Alonso, the new Ferrari driver has adjusted well in his Red suit, taking over the reigns from Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. The Spaniard said that the Ferrari camp has been very favourable to him, unlike the cold treatment he got at McLaren two years ago.

"The feeling, atmosphere, passion of everybody within Ferrari is unbelievable, and I've had time to feel that since day one," said Alonso. "It's nice to be in the garage speaking Italian with the mechanics as they have a similar sense of humour to people in Spain, so it's very good so far. I'm enjoying life." On the first day inside a Ferrari car Alonso awed thousands of fans at Valencia at the Ricardo Tormo circuit. It tool only 25 laps for Alonso to overtake Felipe Massa's best time in the circuit.

Alonso admitted that the testing itself was a positive sign, something that went wrong during his stint in McLaren. "You join a big team and you want to do well, but there's not the same culture, character, so the atmosphere there was a little more cold," remarked the 28-year-old from Oviedo. "They were very professional, and as far as the car is quick, you felt comfortable, but here, for me, Ferrari is very special." Alonso would hope to repeat his performance in the 2005 and 2006 seasons when he won back to back championships in the Renalt car. "This is the first day, which was all about being comfortable. That was the priority. There were many things to discover, to learn." he said.

"In topping the times for three days, maybe it's related to fuel loads, or maybe it's true that we are competitive. Of course, expectations are always high, and this year being with Ferrari, people will expect a lot from us. But there is nothing we can do, other than our maximum, to try to be competitive, professional and quick." Even seven time world champion Michael Schumacher could not top Alonso's times, and defending world champion Jenson Button could do little to overcome the Ferrari and Mercedes form. "The morning was tough because we had to change a lot within the car. It's taken a long time, but we are getting there and we're much closer to getting it spot on, which is good. Hopefully when we get to Jerez (for the second test next week) we will be a lot more comfortable and at home and I can go out and do some proper testing." Button said.