of cos jump when he won... but not like alonso who showing his long horse face when he 2nd on podium at Nurburgring...

of cos jump when he won... but not like alonso who showing his long horse face when he 2nd on podium at Nurburgring...

hehe....he is not satisfy with 2nd

but his worse place so far this season is no.2 !

the season has stil a long way to go

Fernando Alonso is still confident of sustaining his title bid, despite missing the US Grand Prix podium.

Schumacher cut Alonso's lead in the championship to 19 points as the Renault driver struggled to fifth.

"My championship position is still very strong," insisted the 25-year-old. "That's a big reason to stay positive.

"Ferrari and Bridgestone were quicker than us, but in 10 races we've had the better tyres for nine of them, so I am not worried for the next Grands Prix."

Sunday's race saw Schumacher end Alonso's run of four straight wins with victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Seven-time world champion Schumacher led home team-mate Felipe Massa for a Ferrari one-two which broke a run of four consecutive wins for Alonso.

Giancarlo Fisichella provide some respite for Renault by claiming third.

"To be on the podium at such a hard track for us is a strong result, and I think things will get back to normal again in Magny-Cours," said Fisichella.

But Alonso said he was still satisfied with his performance on a difficult weekend for Renault and tyre manufacturer Michelin.

"I was not competitive all weekend and the car was lacking grip all the way through the race, as well as completing race two of a very hard cycle for the engine," added the Spaniard, who won the Canadian Grand Prix last week.

"So I did the maximum possible, and made sure I scored points for the championship.

"Looking back to last year, I scored zero points in North America; this year, I have scored 14."

Renault engineering boss Pat Symonds said: "Fernando struggled with the car this weekend, but we did as much as we could to limit the damage in terms of the championship.

"Track temperatures were in the 50Cs, and on a circuit that demands so much from the tyres, Michelin responded in a conscientious manner."

Is Alonso going over to Mclaren next season?

then Fisichella might win a championship

RENAULT....are expected to release the driver line up for 07 season at this weeks French GP....maybe Monday we will be clearer as to where Kimi will end up!

I believe renault could offer a winning car to kimi, but also mark webber could be i line for a drive if Frank does not take the option up on him for 07/08 season.

All should be clear in the next few weeks.

Fernando Alonso believes he can bounce back after losing out to Michael Schumacher for the second race in a row at the French Grand Prix.

"We knew that Michael was a bit quicker this weekend - like in Imola and the N�rburgring," said the Renault driver.

"Back then, everybody thought that Michael would win all the races after two wins in a row, and we responded very strongly.

"Hopefully, we can do the same at Hockenheim in two weeks' time."

Schumacher became the first driver to win the same Grand Prix eight times with a commanding victory, from pole position, at Magny-Cours on Sunday.

His 88th career win, and fourth of the season for Ferrari, saw the German close the gap on championship leader Alonso to 17 points.

Alonso also missed out at the previous race at Indianapolis, where he had settle for fifth as Schumacher led a Ferrari one-two.

But the Spaniard did well to limit the damage to just two points on Sunday after edging Ferrari's Felipe Massa into third.

"Given where I started on the grid, I think second is everything I could have hoped for," he added.

"Once we saw that Ferrari would be three-stopping then we knew it would be hard to pass them on the track.

"So we chose to rely on the consistent tyre performance, and make two stops.

"The car balance was consistent all the way through the race, and I pushed hard to make sure I could get ahead of Felipe in the final part of the race."

Engineering boss Pat Symonds is also confident that Renault can return to winning ways in time for the German Grand Prix at the end of the month.

"We are now looking forward to Germany, where we will have substantial revisions to the aerodynamics and engine," he told the Renault website.

"We lost two races to Ferrari earlier in the season, and bounced back strongly. That's what we intend to do again, beginning in Hockenheim."

Renault driver Fernando Alonso said he was "very optimistic" of halting title rival Michael Schumacher's run of form at Sunday's German Grand Prix.

Ferrari star Schumacher has won the last two races to close to within 17 points of Alonso in the championship.

But the reigning champion said he was confident of a return to winning ways.

"I am feeling very optimistic," the Spaniard said. "We had a strong first half of the season and I think we can finish 2006 the way we started it."
But Alonso admitted it was important to turn the tables on Ferrari as soon as possible - and especially so at Schumacher's home race.

"It's important to beat Michael at every race - not just Hockenheim," Alonso said.

"We know that at this stage of the season, we have to be finishing in front of the Ferraris.

"But I think that a win in Germany could be worth more than 10 points because of the psychological aspect.

"I try to win all the races - but it would mean a lot to take the victory here."

Renault have struggled to match Ferrari in the last two races as the Italian team's tyre supplier Bridgestone has appeared to enjoy an advantage over Renault's partner Michelin.

Michael Schumacher wins the French Grand Prix
Schumacher and Ferrari have won the last two races
Alonso said: "We are in the middle of a good fight between the tyre manufacturers at the moment.

"Michelin and Bridgestone are pushing each other hard at every race.

"We have fantastic tyres on the car and Michelin are giving us the extra performance, that's why we are leading the championship.

"I am confident for the rest of the year and certain that Michelin can become champions again."

Renault have some major upgrades to their car for the German race, following on from Ferrari doing the same for the last event in France.

And Alonso said he was sure Renault's car development could keep pace with Ferrari.

"I think we are developing the car in a good way at the moment," he said.

"We began the season with a fantastic car, so maybe that left us a little less room to improve than the other teams.

"But even though our competitors are developing and trying to come back, we are still winning races. The team hasn't stopped improving the car and engine."

Renault engineering director said this year's title battle with Ferrari was much tougher than last year's against McLaren.

"Last year, our rivals had a speed advantage and their Achilles heel was reliability," Symonds said.

"We were on the same tyres, which meant it would be hard to race them - so we went conservative to benefit from their reliability problems.

"This year, Ferrari are on different tyres to us, so their performance is not in synch with ours. What's more, they have had bloody good reliability.

"As a team, we have improved our performance in every area, scored more points and finished more races.

"But that isn't enough this year, we have to develop aggressively and race aggressively too, which is a much more fun way of going racing. In retrospect, 2005 seems almost boring in comparison!"