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| March 30, 2006 | Thursday | Safar 29, 1427 |
Champion regards team mate main threat
SYDNEY, March 29: Spaniard Fernando Alonso is sure of one thing: a Renault will win this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. However, the reigning world champion has no idea whether it will be him or his talented team mate Giancarlo Fisichella who takes the chequered flag.
Alonso won the season-opening race in Bahrain but had to settle for second place behind the Italian in Malaysia and expects Fisichella to be his main rival in Melbourne this weekend.
“I’m happy if I have to fight with my team mate because it means that the car is competitive and it’s good news for the team and for me,” Alonso said in a statement released by Renault.
“We know the car is competitive, it has won the first two races and that gives me the conviction that we can be quick at the next 16 rounds too.”
Fisichella won last year’s Australian Grand Prix when it was the first race of the season, but this year’s race was moved back to the third round to avoid clashing with the Commonwealth Games, which ended in Melbourne last Sunday.
“I have a great feeling here, I won last year and I am hoping to do the same again,” Fisichella said.
The battle between the two Renault drivers has been given extra spice because of Alonso’s decision to join McLaren next year, but the Spaniard says it’s still all business as usual.
“Even if I’m leaving the team, I have no doubts that I saw in the first two races that nothing’s changed compared to last year,” he said.
“The two drivers will have the same opportunities and the same favour in the team as we did last year. They know that we need to try to win the championship so they need to try and help me.”
Germany’s Michael Schumacher has an imposing record at Albert Park, winning won four of the previous five races in his Ferrari before crashing out last year.
The seven-times world champion won only one race last year but the early signs this season have been far more encouraging and he has not discounted his chances of winning soon.
He finished second in Bahrain then sixth in Malaysia and believes the Ferraris are much closer to the Renaults than 12 months ago.
Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen won seven races for McLaren last season but has a mixed start this season, finishing third in Bahrain before crashing out early in Sepang, and says he’ll be happy with any high finish in Melbourne.
“After the first two races, I am really hoping to have a trouble-free weekend in Australia, as the car feels good and I think that we can get some good results with it,” he said.—Reuters
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