Preview: Alonso and Schumacher enter British GP highly confident

By Volker Gundrum Jun 8, 2006, 17:34 GMT

Silverstone, Britain - Fernando Alonso eyes a third straight race win at the British Formula One Grand Prix but will likely face stiff opposition from Michael Schumacher, who wants to overcome his Monte Carlo shame.

'It will not be an easy weekend, but I certainly think we can be fighting for the win,' said Alonso.

Schumacher said: 'There's no question about what our goal is: We're going to Silverstone to win.'

Alonso won the last two races in Spain and Monaco for the first time in his career and would like nothing more than to lift the Silverstone trophy for the first time as well on Sunday.

Such an achievement would only further raise the world championship lead of the Renault driver, who has so far dominated the season with 64 points from a possible 70.

The Ferrari ace Schumacher lags behind on 43 and is aware that he can't afford any kind of mistake, intentional or not, if he wants to remain in the race for an eighth title.

Schumacher was ruled to have intentionally stopped his car late in Monaco qualifying, losing his pole position for last place on the grid from he which he fought to fifth place in the race.

The incident led to plenty of bad feelings towards the German with Alonso just one driver naming the grid sanction not harsh enough even though Schumacher insisted he simply made a driving error.

Now they aim to fight for supremacy again on the high-speed Silverstone track in front of the dedicated British fans which they both like even though not all memories are good.

'It is always a nice feeling to be attacking high-speed corners and be right on the limit,' said Alonso.

'The British fans have a special feeling for Formula 1 not just passion, but very deep knowledge as well. That means there is a good relationship with the crowd at this circuit.'

'I am feeling very confident ahead of this race. We had a good test at Silverstone and we know that the characteristics of the circuit are good for the R26, so there is no reason to think we won't be fighting at the front,' he said.

Alonso's best result in Silverstone is second place from last year, beaten by McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya even though he won the pole position.

Schumacher, for his part, has three Silverstone wins but also fractured his leg there during the 1999 edition.

'Silverstone is one of the circuits with the longest tradition for our sport. I've always enjoyed driving there, and I'm looking forward to the circuit this time as well,' he said.

'We've got a lot to achieve, especially because of the current world championship situation. There's no doubt about it: we need to close the gap and we're determined to start doing that at Silverstone,' he said.

McLaren would like nothing more than a first season win at their home race from either Montoya or Kimi Raikkonen, but that appears as unlikely as a win from Honda's Jenson Button for the first British driver's top spot since David Coulthard's double 1999 and 2000.

The schedule itself is the same - free practice Friday, qualifying Saturday and the race Sunday. But Saturday's and Sunday's start has been brought forward in order to allow fans watching football World Cup games, most noticeably England's first game Saturday, on three giant screens at the circuit.