MONTREAL // Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso says he expects this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix to reveal Ferrari's potential to sustain their fight for title glory.
The Italian team struggled during winter testing and were a long way off the pace at the season-opening race in Montreal.
In spite of this and in conjunction with this season's memorable start to the season — in which six different drivers have won the opening six races — double-champion Alonso picked up a win in Malaysia and podiums in Spain and Monaco.
The 30-year-old Spaniard now holds a three-point lead over Red Bull rivals Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber - but admits the Montreal track will be Ferrari's biggest test since the start of the season.
"I think we have improved the car in these areas since the beginning of the season and Canada will be a good test in this respect," he said.
"Hopefully this weekend we will see a competitive Ferrari and that will be very important for us, not just for this race but also for the rest of the season.
"It's hard to say in advance, as this season has been so unpredictable with ups and downs for everyone over the course of six races.
"However, I don't see any reason why Ferrari should not be competitive in Canada, fighting for the top places come the end of the race."
Despite leading the title race, Alonso believes Ferrari still have a lot of catching up to do.
He said: "Leading the championship is only the beginning, it's a starting point, because the ultimate target is leading the championship after the final race in Brazil in November.
"It's a long championship and the first six races brought us enough points to be in the lead, but we are well aware that we have to improve.
"We need to make the car faster, working hard, while making no mistakes and finding consistency, which is not the easiest thing to do in this championship."
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