Alonso expects to challenge Schumacher in Suzuka

Oct 3, 2006, 14:45 GMT

Suzuka - Renault's Fernando Alonso believes he can bounce back from the disappointment of finishing second behind championship rival Michael Schumacher in the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend in Japan.

The Shanghai circuit was expected to favour Alonso while the Suzuka circuit for this weekend's Japanese GP is generally regarded as more suited to Bridgestone and Ferrari.

Schumacher's seventh race win of the season in Shanghai moved the Ferrari driver level on 116 points with Alonso with just two races remaining, but the German has one GP victory more this season and is positioned ahead of Alonso as a result.

'I think the people wanted a close championship this year ­ and they've got it,' said Alonso.

'The performance between both cars is very similar, so the last races will be dominated by the tyres. Michelin have done a great job in Suzuka for the past couple of years, and I have a good feeling.'

Meanwhile, Renault's engineering director Pat Symonds believes his team needs to make up for last weekend's disappointment by winning in Japan.

'We were massively frustrated because we let ourselves down,' said Symonds.

'This was clearly a race we should have won. But that is now past, and we need to look ahead to Suzuka. The great thing is that the race demonstrated that whatever the conditions, the car is right back on the pace.'