Schumacher upbeat ahead of Japanese Grand Prix

Oct 6, 2006, 13:17 GMT

Suzuka - Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was in relaxed mood after just edging rival Fernando Alonso in the second practice session Friday for the Japanese Grand Prix.

'The car worked well, the impression I have from the tyres is positive and there was nothing untoward - everything went well,' said the 37-year-old German after finishing third ahead of Alonso.

After a rainy first session in which Schumacher did not leave the box, he was third fastest in his Ferrari on a drying Suzuka track, 0.298secs ahead of Alonso.

Alonso's Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella was quickest, with a lap of one minute 34.337 seconds, 0.071 seconds quicker than Ferrari's Felipe Massa, and 0.228 seconds up on Schumacher.

Helping Schumacher's upbeat mood was a weather forecast for Sunday's race putting the probability of rain at under 10 per cent.

A dryer track is expected to work to the advantage of Ferrari's Bridgestone tyres which have performed better in dry conditions than the Michelin of the Renault team.

'The weather will help us, so I am pleased about that,' said Schumacher, who predicts the race to be a Ferrari-Renault duel.

'I assume that we and Renault will be fighting for the leading positions,' he said.

Schumacher and world champion Alonso are level on points with two races to go. But Schumacher will win the title if he wins at Suzuka on Sunday with Alonso finishing lower than eighth.

Although Alonso could still equal the German's points total, he would be classified second because he would have won fewer races.

Meanwhile Alonso played down criticism of his team-mate Fisichella, saying in a statement through his team he understood and accepted fully the team's decisions.

Alonso had been quoted this week as claiming not everyone in the Renault team wanted him to win the title. He had criticized Fisichella and the team's tactics at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

Alonso was quoted Friday by the BBC as saying: 'The press try to make whatever you say bigger to have more repercussions. I'm used to this - 99 per cent of the things that you read in the press are misunderstandings.'

Alonso also told the BBC he was upbeat about his chances, saying that 'a lot' of the battle is psychological.

'The car performance of Renault and Ferrari is nearly the same, the driver performance is very similar as well,' he said.

'So it becomes a tyre decision - a key factor of the championship probably - and a psychological issue.'