"Practicing with a kart is like getting Nadal to play Ping-Pong"

Fernando Alonso's appearance during a press conference on Thursday, at Ferrari's annual promotional event in the alpine ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio, was more notable for its brevity rather than any pre-season revelations from the Spanish Formula 1 star. In fact, it was in stark contrast to the grilling of Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa, just moments before, or that of Ferrari president Stefano Domenicali, on Wednesday, which had to be cut short with several questions left unanswered.

The double world champion appeared not to be in the mood to engage with the assembled journalists on Thursday, apparently angry with the way that the press has dealt with his recent divorce from Spanish pop star Raquel de Rosario, from the group El Sueño de Morfeo.

"I don't need my boss to come here and tell you what he thinks about me"

In fact, his annoyance was practically the only conclusion that could be drawn from the tense presentation of the 2012 team, with just over two months to go until the cars line up on the grid for the first race of the season in Australia, on March 18 at Albert Park in Melbourne.

"How do you feel when you hear the praise that was heaped on you yesterday by your boss, Stefano Domenicali, who said that your performance last year would have been practically impossible to better?" asked one journalist. "I speak to my boss every day," came the curt reply. "I don't need him to come here and tell you what he thinks about me."

Many of the other questions launched at Alonso were batted away in a similar manner, a lot with monosyllabic answers, and others relying on an old favorite: "I don't have a crystal ball." That was the reply of the 30-year-old when asked if the changes to the regulations this year ? namely an end to blown diffusors ? will benefit Ferrari and its new car.

When asked who he considered the best driver in Formula 1 these days, Alonso named his Polish friend Robert Kubica. Rumors have abounded in recent weeks that the former Renault driver may soon be racing alongside Alonso at Ferrari. However, news this week that after slipping on ice near his home in Italy he may have reopened a fracture sustained in his leg last year in a rally accident may have put paid to that for the near future.

Alonso also complained about the fact that Formula 1 is the only sport where practice for the drivers is so limited (the regulations were introduced by the sport's governing body in an effort to keep down costs). "[Practicing with a kart] would be like forcing [Lionel] Messi to train with a racket rather than a ball or Rafael Nadal with a table tennis bat."

But as the press conference progressed, the Spaniard relaxed somewhat, and focused on his car for next year. "The exterior will look fairly similar to last year's car, but inside there have been significant changes," he explained. "The rules have been clarified somewhat over the last two years, and all of the cars look more and more similar."

He was, however, optimistic that the problems the team faced due to their wind tunnel testing last year are now behind them. "That cost us," he said. "We made mistakes with our data, and began behind. Now that everything has been sorted out, I don't know if we'll have a dominant car, but I do think that it will be more like the other teams'."