Fernando Alonso ticks all the right boxes in title tilt

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has just one more box to tick before he can step up as Formula One''s youngest triple world champion on Sunday.  

The Spaniard said four months ago, when he and Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa limped home 14th and 15th at Silverstone, that he was confident he could take the title and his self-belief has never wavered.

In Abu Dhabi on Saturday he crossed another item off the list by qualifying third, a position that would be enough to secure the crown if the starting order remains unchanged to the chequered flag of Sunday's season-ender.

"Now there's one day to go," he told reporters at the floodlit Yas Marina circuit.                                            

"We knew this weekend would be difficult, arriving with Red Bull very dominant in the last three or four grands prix. Now we've passed Friday, we did some set-up work and some interesting runs with the tyres.  

"We've passed Saturday with a good qualifying in terms of championship positions. Now there is only one more cross to put: Sunday."  

Alonso has been in this position before, winning titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006 and losing one by a single point at McLaren in 2007.  

The 29-year-old, in his first season with Formula One's most successful team, said each one was different.                                            

"It depends on the competitiveness of your car, how quick you have been in the last three or four grands prix, how strong you feel in the car and how confident you feel in the car," declared the winner of three of the last five races.      

"I think this year is different in a way because I feel that maybe we are not the fastest normally, especially on Saturday when we struggle a little bit more on one lap pace.     

"But we have a very good tyre degradation and a very good race pace normally, so for tomorrow I feel confident," he added.                                            

"This year I also feel the team supporting me a lot, a very good atmosphere... all year. I feel very happy in the car, despite what happens tomorrow. As I''ve said, 2010 is a great, great year for me."

Since that British Grand Prix July, Alonso has amassed more points than anyone.                                            

He has finished on the podium in his last five races and seven of the last eight.                                            

The Spaniard said the start, with title rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton ahead of him for Red Bull and McLaren, would set the tone but not be crucial.

"In general I think we will not win the championship in corner one. The only thing we can do is to lose it," he said.