"Michael's problems are a bit of a bonus"Fernando Alonso and his Renault team will take nothing for granted in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix after seeing
Michael Schumacher hit by technical problems to finish only tenth on the grid.
Renault engineering chief Pat
Symonds said that they had plenty of respect for him and would regard him as a serious danger to them knowing that, in his final race of a long and record-breaking career, he would want to bow out with a good result.
It is nice to see Fernando qualifying ahead of his main rival and we have sympathy for Michael's situation - and plenty of respect as well. We know that he can still be a danger to us from that position and we are not going to discount him at all."
Championship leader and defending champion Spaniard
Fernando Alonso took fourth place and his Renault team-mate Italian
Giancarlo Fisichella sixth while Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa took pole and Schumacher was left frustrated in tenth.
Alonso said: "Michael's problems are a bit of a bonus, but we are never going to write him off because we know what he can do."
Alonso added that, ideally, he is hoping for a quiet race so he can cruise to his second drivers' title and become the youngest double champion in the history of the sport. Alonso needs one point to clinch the title, but can lose it if he fails to score a point and Schumacher wins the race.
"We were looking to be in the top five or six, and then with Michael's problems we gained a place because he was going to be ahead of us, so fourth is very good," Alonso said. "Being on the first or the second row was almost a dream because we knew qualifying would be the most difficult part, so the race is looking very good and so also is the championship. Michael in tenth, that helps me to be a little more relaxed."
Fisichella, who is fighting for third place in the championship with Massa, vowed to be aggressive in the race.
"The times are really, really close this afternoon and I am not totally happy to be back in sixth, because the target was the second row. Obviously, I am fighting with Massa for third place in the drivers' championship, so it means I have a harder job for the race. But, considering what happened in Suzuka, I managed to finish on the podium starting from sixth, so we are confident that the car will have good race pace.
"It is a long and demanding Grand Prix here and there are usually plenty of incidents, but we cannot count on that. I will need an aggressive race tomorrow to try and beat Felipe."
Source AFP
