''I am not panicking now'' - AlonsoFernando Alonso is staying cool under pressure as he prepares for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix and another attack from red-hot
Michael Schumacher.
Alonso, who was well off the pace as he struggled to finish fifth at last
Sunday's German Grand Prix, knows he has to arrest a recent slide that has seen German Schumacher reel off a hat-trick of victories and cut his lead to 11 points. But the Renault driver, who struggled badly at Hockenheim, believes that the German flop by his team was a one-off and will not be seen again.
"I don't think we will see a repeat of what happened in Germany," said Alonso. "Personally, I am calm and I know the team has been working hard to understand what happened. The tyres in Hungary are very different to what we needed in Germany and Michelin have reacted to the problems as well."
"People are talking about Michael closing in, but I was never over-confident when I was leading - and I am not panicking now. I am confident we can have a strong race in Hungary."
"I'm not worried as far as I'm in front of him, but it's true that if we keep going like this, in three or four races we will be equal in points and this is not good for me."
Last year, Alonso failed to score a point at the slow and demanding Hungaroring, where it is notoriously difficult to overtake, but he still went on to win the title.
Now, he thinks he can turn the tables on Schumacher and his Ferrari team who this week have been enjoying a feeling that they are capable of snatching the title away.
Last Sunday, they revelled in a dominant one-two finish, with Felipe Massa following Schumacher home.
"Germany was probably the hardest race of the season because we didn't expect to have the problems we did," said Alonso. "We were not competitive throughout the weekend but even so, I think we had the performance to get on the podium without the tyre blistering in the first stint. The important thing is that the team is still working well and taking the maximum from every race. We did it again on Sunday. Now, we need to have confidence in ourselves and improve the situation for Budapest."
Alonso's Renault team-mate
Giancarlo Fisichella also thinks that Michelin will perform better in Hungary than they did in Germany. And like Alonso he also refused to blame Renault's poor form on an FIA decision to ban the use of a 'mass damper' system, used by Renault and six other teams, last weekend.
Schumacher, who has seen it all before on his way to seven drivers' titles, remained reluctant to crow this week, however, as speculation intensified that he could lift an extraordinary eighth drivers' title.
Looking back on Hockenheim, he said: "Sure it was great, but it will not be easy doing it again right away. That said, a win is vital if we are to keep up the chase. We have to score more points rather than pushing things and trying to dominate the race. We will have to maintain a high tempo and be focused throughout. In modern day Formula One, nothing is a certainty."
Source AFP
