Ferrari's Fernando Alonso put his faith in Formula One's governing body and Pirelli ensuring safety at the German Grand Prix on Thursday after multiple tyre blowouts at last weekend's British race.
The Spaniard, second in the standings behind Red Bull's triple champion Sebastian Vettel, was almost hit on the head by a strip of tread flying off a car in front of him at Silverstone.
- Formula One in crisis mode after tyre failures
After the intervention of the governing FIA amid talk of a driver boycott, Pirelli have brought different rear tyres to the Nuerburgring - Vettel's home race - with an inner belt made of the synthetic fibre Kevlar a rather than steel.
"After what we saw in Silverstone, we now go to the Nuerburgring, confident we can see an improvement," the Ferrari website (www.ferrari.com) quoted Alonso as saying.
"I know that various modifications have been applied and let's hope that means all of us drivers can race in safe conditions.
"At the moment, we can't make any predictions, because no one has tried them and we don't know what and how many benefits they can bring, apart from trusting in the fact that it won't be dangerous to race," added the double champion.
Alonso won last year's German Grand Prix, which was held at Hockenheim under an alternation agreement, from pole position.
That was the last time the double world champion, a winner in China and Spain this season, has appeared on the front row of the grid.
