Apr 4, 2006, 17:26 GMT
Stuttgart, Germany - World champion Fernando Alonso does not believe German seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher will retire at the end of the season.
In an interview published in Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday the Spaniard said that he would welcome it if Schumacher continued to race next season as he preferred racing against a 'great professional.'
'Michael is still very fast. He is not yet ready to retire,' the 24-year-old Renault driver said.
Alonso said that although Schumacher made a mistake in Australia and crashed out of the race he expects him to still win races this season. 'He started well in Bahrain, but is now struggling with some of the tracks. As soon as we reach tracks that are better for Ferrari and Bridgestone he will start winning again.'
Alonso, who last year became the youngest-ever world champion, has a commanding lead in the drivers' standings with 28 points from team- mate Giancarlo Fisichella and McLaren-Mercedes' Kimi Raikkonen who both have 14 points.
He believes Schumacher on 11 points also has a chance of winning the title. 'He is a driver who can always score points and is highly motivated.'
The Renault driver does not think the title race is over. 'Sooner or later the opposition will start to become dangerous again. It is in our favour though that our strongest rivals keep on changing. In Bahrain it was Ferrari, in Malaysia Honda and in Australia it was McLaren.'
He said that he does not believe he will ever drive for Ferrari. 'To be honest, I can't see myself driving for them,' adding that nobody from the team had contacted him although they knew that his contract with Renault ended at the end of the season.
Alonso, who has signed for McLaren for next season, said that he does not believe he will change his mind once he had spent a few years with McLaren. 'I am not a driver for whom Ferrari is priority. My priority is to make sure that my team can win.'
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