Nonetheless, Alonso will be determined to repeat his Spanish Grand Prix win, a victory that came after losing out to Schumacher in the previous two races. With parallels being drawn with what occurred earlier in the year, the reigning champion still has reason to be happy.
“I am feeling very optimistic,” Alonso insisted. “We had a strong first half of the season, and they key thing now is to keep going and finalise the job. The
Renault team is ready, and I am ready. I think we can finish 2006 the same way we started it.”
However, Alonso admits that a win over Schumacher, particularly now as several start tipping the German to claim the 2006 crown, will be a psychological victory too.
“It's important to beat Michael at every race – not just Hockenheim! We know that at this stage of the season, we have to be finishing in front of the Ferraris. But I think that a win in Germany could be worth more than ten points because of the psychological aspect. I try to win all the races – but it would mean a lot to take the victory here.”
After another rather low-key race in France,
Giancarlo Fisichella has slipped back into the clutches of
Kimi Raikkonen and
Felipe Massa in the tussle for third place in the championship, with the gap now down to three points over the Finn and a further point over the Brazilian.
Furthermore, Fisichella is also eager to aid Renault in their bid to keep the fast approaching
Ferrari behind in the constructors’ championship after their rivals managed to claim 34 of the 36 points available, compared to Renault’s 21.
“We know that the Renault package is a very strong one, good enough to win races. At the moment, though, the tyre factor is playing a big role, so it is hard to make too many predictions about performance between the teams before we start running. But France showed us that
Toyota are now at a strong level, so there are maybe four teams fighting for the podium.
