Spanish Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso is hoping his luck will turn as he prepares to race on home turf in Barcelona on Sunday.

The Ferrari driver is sure of fervent home support on the Montmelo racetrack, but admits that rather than the noise from the stands, it will be the performance of his tyres and the tactics of the team during the race that will be the decisive factors.

Alonso goes into the Spanish Grand Prix after finishing second in Australia and winning in China, but failure to finish in Malaysia and a technical problem in Bahrain means he is currently fourth in the drivers' championship, 30 points behind leader and reigning World Champions, Sebastian Vettel.

"If everything goes well, we have a lot of options to finish on the podium," commented Alonso in sports paper Diario AS, highlighting qualification on Saturday as the key to a good race this Sunday.

"Saturday is going to be very important," he said. "In the first four races of the season there is a lot of overtaking, but in Barcelona and then in Monaco, the Saturday is very important," he said, highlighting that these two tracks are tougher for drivers looking to overtake rivals, making a high place on the start grid all the more important.

"We also have to look after our tyres," he stressed. "We stopped four times in 2011 and three last year, although some teams tried to make four changes. Here in Barcelona the tyres are going to be more important than anything else you have," he continued looking at the warm weather forecast for Barcelona on Sunday.

"The track is going to be hotter, the cars will be slower and that will help the tyres because you take the corners a bit slower, although the corners here also wear the tyres out a bit more," said Alonso, who remains optimistic despite his position in the championship.

"The feelings we have are a lot different from last year. I had won a race in 2013, but due to the weather conditions in Malaysia (heavy rain). Here I won in China in a different way; the car is performing better and I am optimistic for what is left to race. There are a lot of points and anything can happen," he concluded. Endi

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