MONTMELO, Spain -- Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso is telling his local fans to keep their expectations low for this Sundays Spanish Grand Prix. The two-time former Formula One champion downplayed his third-place finish three weeks ago in China and said progress is going slow for Ferrari as it tries to make up ground on Mercedes. "If I say we will fight for the podium I will probably be lying to you, and I dont want to disappoint our fans," Alonso said on Thursday, a day before practice begins at the seasons first event in Europe. Alonso sits third in the standings with 41 points after Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton swept the first four races of the season. Rosberg leads the standings with 79 points with Hamilton four points behind. Ferraris last win came at Montmelo one year ago when Alonso got his second career victory on the circuit. Since then, it is on its longest streak without a victory in almost two decades after Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel dominated the end of last season before Mercedes took the lead this year. Alonso has yet to crack the top three spots in qualifying so far in 2014, while Kimi Raikkonen has fared even worse in his return to the team that he won the world title with in 2007. The Finn hasnt finished in the top six spots in any race, and has also lacked speed in qualifying. "We finished ninth and 10th in Bahrain and did podium in China because we had some things (come) together on that Sunday, but it is not that we are in a position to say we will fight for the podium here," Alonso said. "Barcelona is a good point to check how competitive we are." Alonso said Ferraris upgrade package is "nothing out of the world" and that the biggest advantage he will have is his knowledge of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with its single straightaway, which he hoped would reduce Mercedes ability to leverage its better overall speed. The race will be Ferraris second under new team principal Marco Mattiacci after he replaced Stefano Domenicali. Mattiacci, a former president of Ferrari North America but with no experience in F1, arrived to Shanghai in time to watch Alonso steer to a third-place finish. Alonso said Mattiacci was meeting with everyone on the team-- from drivers to engineers and crew members-- but needed time to learn the sport before he put his stamp on the Italian team. "At the moment everything is more or less the same," Alonso said. "Everything is calm, no big changes. 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VIENNA, Austria -- Canadian Vasek Pospisil dropped a 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-2 decision to Robin Haase in second-round play Thursday at the Erste Bank Open. Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with the way I was playing,"said Pospisil. "He played well and went for his shots. Im aware that I didnt and its something Ill work on. "I wasnt feeling that great today in general, even in the warmup. But thats the way it goes. You have to do the best you can with what you have." Pospisil jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first-set tiebreaker before dropping seven straight points. The 23-year-old Canadian faced a match ball in the last game of the second set before pulling even and taking the tiebreaker. However, Haase overwhelmed Pospisil in thhe deciding set on the cramped secondary court of the Statdhalle, completing the win in two hours 19 minutes.dddddddddddd. Pospisil, a native of Vernon, B.C., had nine aces and kept the pressure on Haase with 12 break points, but the Dutchman saved 10 of them. The Canadian had his serve broken four times. Pospisil is looking to close out the season strong so that he can achieve his goal of earning a seed for the Australian Open in January. Pospisil is currently ranked 40th in the world. "Ive had a great season," said Pospisil, who reached the Rogers Cup semifinals last August in Montreal. "Myself and my coach have set a goal of trying to get a seeding for Melbourne. "Its a tough ask and I have to beat some good players to get there." Pospisil defeated Lleyton Hewitt -- a former world No. 1 -- in the first round. ' ' '