Fernando Alonso (above) and Felipe Massa led Ferrari to a 1-2 finish in Bahrain a week and a half ago giving the Spaniard cause for optimism going into this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

"I've been in Australia for a couple of days already, I came directly here from Bahrain to relax a bit before the two consecutive races in Melbourne and Malaysia and now I'm ready for the season's second race," says Scuderia Ferrari driver and F1 World Championship points leader Fernando Alonso ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

"I stayed in contact with the team these days and I know that they worked hard in Maranello to get ready for the race. The one-two win in Sakhir gave us confidence and was a great result for the hard work during the winter on the track and at the works, but we can't take anything for granted. We have to stay with our feet on the ground, keeping calm and staying concentrated: in Melbourne we're starting from square one. Nothing has changed for me: there are four teams and eight drivers who can fight for victory and we have to give it our all to stay ahead of everybody else.

"I like the Albert Park track. It's quite a technical circuit with some pretty interesting corners. Overtaking has never been easy and what is even more important now, like on all city circuits, is the result in the qualifying. We have to see how the tyres behave with different fuel loads and temperatures, which will be different from the ones we had during testing and in Bahrain.

"I think that many of us have given some hot headed comments immediately after the race in Bahrain. It's true that the race in Sakhir wasn't especially spectacular – although for us Ferraristi it was great and exciting – but it's too early to talk about changing the rules. We have to wait and see different races and check the situation, without being emotional. Something that confuses the fans is changing the rules all the time.

"The weekend in Melbourne is one of my preferred ones for the atmosphere at the paddock and in the city. It's really special and it seems that everybody is following the event. There's lots of action on the track and it's good to see so many people on the grandstands. Let's hope we can provide a good show to our fans, for more great satisfaction," concludes Alonso.

ItaliaspeedTV: Scuderia Ferrari Australian Grand Prix Preview, Team Principal Stefano Domenicali interview