The man Alonso is trying to chase down is team-mate
Lewis Hamilton but while many rookies in his position would likely feel pressure, the Brit insists such a situation is ‘extra motivation’ for him as he vows to create history over the coming races and become the first person to win a championship in their maiden season.
"Spa is a track that everyone has always talked about and it is with good reason. I love the circuit, it does require a compromise with the set-up to account for the fast straights and corners whilst also ensure you can have the right amount of traction through the slower sections, and it is all about being precise.
“I raced here in 2005, race one was in the wet, race two in the dry, so I have some good experience and won race two. We tested here in July and completed some positive work with
Bridgestone. Now I am just waiting to get out there and race in a
Formula 1 car for the first time.
“The situation in both Championships is very close, and people keep talking about pressure, but it just provides me with extra motivation, I certainly don’t feel any stress. There are four races to go, including Belgium, and I will take them all individually and do my best to try and win them."
Renault – Giancarlo Fisichella (#3), Heikki Kovalainen (#4):
Renault arrives at Spa with mixed emotions in the camp, after Heikki Kovalainen added further points to his slowly growing tally at Monza, but veteran team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella missed out after qualifying problems. Although this weekend will be Kovalainen's first race at Spa in
F1, the Finn is no stranger to the circuit.
"I'm very excited!" he enthused, "Spa is a fantastic circuit, and I have very good memories from my races in GP2. The track layout is very nice, with lots of elevation changes and some really good sequences of corners which put the drivers and the engineers to the test. It is certainly one of the best races of the year, and a fantastic challenge for the drivers – especially through the famous section of Eau Rouge.
"This is what I would call an old-style circuit - not in terms of the facilities, which have been improved a lot this year, but in terms of the track design. There are many demanding, high-speed corners and it is a real driver's circuit, where we can make a big difference at the wheel. Even if the car does not have the perfect set-up, or if it is not the fastest on the grid, a very brave driver can go into the corners faster, accelerate earlier or not lift where others do. This is a circuit where you can really see who the good drivers are.
"We were a bit disappointed not to finish higher [at Monza], and not to have taken advantage of Massa's retirement to score more points, but we made no mistakes during the race, so I have to admit we finished where we probably deserved to. It was good to finish the race and maintain my 100 per cent record, and to score points for the fifth race in a row."
With
Renault's 2008 line-up set to be decided within days, Fisichella knows that the pressure is on to perform if he is to continue partnering Kovalainen next season.
