Alonso positive despite crucial tyre error.

Fernando Alonso is keeping his head high heading into the final two races of the season, despite arguably throwing away a comfortable Chinese Grand Prix victory with a crucial mistake regarding tyre choice on a continuously drying Shanghai circuit.

It was a race of ups and downs for Alonso, who was eventually forced to finish in second place, just behind Schumacher, having endured a torrid middle stint that saw a lead of over 20 seconds disappear into a deficit of almost a minute.

Leading away from the start, Alonso duly made the most of team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella's slower pace to scamper away into a clear lead for the first 20 laps, but with a dry line beginning to emerge as the circuit dried slowly but surely, the Renault team elected to change the front of his tyres instead of the rears, a curious move considering every other driver had left their front or all of their tyres well alone.

It did not take long for their mistake to be highlighted when Alonso saw his lead slashed by three seconds a lap by Fisichella and Schumacher, the German riding up to the back of the Italian having dispatched Rubens Barrichello and benefited from Kimi Raikkonen's retirement.

Although Alonso worked with Fisichella to stay in the lead, inevitably the Spaniard could not hold out and when his team-mate took the lead, it took Schumacher another three corners to find a way past a car clearly unable to find any grip.

Still, Alonso held steady until the track finally merited a switch to dry rubber, only for a sticking rear-tyre to lose him another crucial 15 seconds.

Now almost a minute adrift, Alonso hopes of victory were all but gone and despite an incredible fight back on a dry circuit saw him close a 20 second gap to just three in under ten laps, Alonso was too late to do anything about Schumacher's win, a result that leaves the sparring partners equal on points, but the German ahead by virtue of winning more races.

Indeed, Alonso was frustrated the team could only manage a second and third place finish on a day when they arguably had a faster car than Ferrari and even in conditions that they believed would see them hold the clear advantage over their rivals.

"This was a difficult race for the team because we lost a very good opportunity today. I built up a good lead in the first 20 laps, but my front tyres were badly worn - and the conditions were difficult as the track was drying very slowly. We made the decision to change the fronts for a new pair, and it was the wrong one - as we saw with Fisi and Michael, who kept all four tyres on the car and were much quicker.

"After that, the only thing we could do was go to dry tyres as early as possible - and hope to catch up the time to Michael. In the end, there were not enough laps left."

Ever optimistic though, Alonso sees the title fight now as an exciting spectacle for the fans for the final two races in Japan and Brazil, even if they are two races the Spaniard has never won. Nonetheless, he is encouraged by the searing pace his car showed in the dry compared to Schumacher - the first time that has been seen for several races.

"It was a bad day, but this is a fantastic fight for the championship, and I go to Japan feeling really confident. We had the quickest car today, and we have two more good chances to win. I believe we can do it."