Alonso says pneumatic engine flaw reports false

Fernando Alonso on Monday declared "false" reports that Ferrari’s engines problems in 2010 have been narrowed down to a general flaw of the pneumatic air system.

We reported late last week that the Italian team might ask the FIA for permission to make changes to its 2.4 litre V8 design on the grounds of reliability.

But when asked about the problems during a sponsor media event near Madrid on Monday, Spanish driver Alonso insisted he is "calm" and "not worried" about the technical problems.

"The car will be good," said the 28-year-old, referring to next weekend’s Spanish grand prix at Barcelona.

"It was good in the early races and for one reason or another we did not get all the points we wanted, but I think we will have a good car at Montmelo," added Alonso.

He confirmed that Ferrari has identified the problem that has been causing engine failures this year.

But, according to the Spanish news agency EP, he insisted: "The things written about the valves and the air intake system are false. In Barcelona and all the other races we will try now to run with one hundred per cent reliability."

Alonso admitted that he does not know if Ferrari has written to the FIA to request legitimate changes to the engine amid the current development freeze.

"What I do know is that the engine technicians are committed to solving the problems, which were not about one thing in particular," he said.