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."

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 Nürburgring," 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!"

Fernando Alonso said he was unconcerned after German Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher reduced his championship lead to 11 points.

But the Spaniard, who finished fifth, admitted that his Renault team need to improve in the coming races.

"I'm not worried as far as I'm in front of him," he said afterwards.

"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."

Alonso started the day at Hockenheim with a 17-point lead over Ferrari rival Schumacher but saw that gap slashed as he matched his season's worst finish.

But the defending world champion, who turned 25 on Saturday, refused to blame Renault's performance on a ban introduced by the sport's governing body - the FIA - this weekend on a suspension system pioneered by Renault.

The "mass damper" system, adopted by at least six other teams, uses a counterweight within the suspension to enhance stability.

Asked how much the ban had affected his car's performance, Alonso answered: "I don't think that much, to be honest.

"It's true with this result that it is easy to say this would affect the car but I'm totally sure in Hungary we will be back with the right set-up, right tyre and forget the dampers."

However, Alonso believes tyre problems played a part in Sunday's display.

"We were not competitive this weekend, but I did the maximum I could and so did the team," added the Spaniard, who has won six races to Schumacher's five this season.

"I think that without the [tyre] blistering we experienced, the podium was a possibility for me even from seventh position."

Schumacher, however, hailed his Hockenheim victory as a turning point in the world title race.

"It is the right moment in time when we needed to have such a performance in order to bring down the gap in the championship and keep the pressure on," said the German.

"Naturally the performance we have shown in the last three races against our competition gives us great confidence.

"Hopefully we can reduce the gap in the championship pretty quickly. It is important we use this opportunity."

Renault face a difficult Hungarian Grand Prix weekend after deciding not to use a pioneering design that was banned for the last race.

Renault have reversed a decision to fit their cars with a radical design system they had been intending to use.

F1's governing body had said it would not seek to punish teams using the "mass damper", but Renault removed it following a later communication.

Renault's Fernando Alonso struggled in Germany last Sunday without the system.

By contrast, title rival Michael Schumacher won his third straight race and is now 11 points behind the Spaniard with six races to go.

The Ferrari driver has cut Alonso's once-massive lead by 14 points in just three races, all of which the German has won.

Alonso said Germany was "probably the hardest" race of the season "because we were not competitive throughout the weekend".

A Renault spokesman said the team had "reconsidered" its decision to use the system following a communication from governing body the FIA explaining why it thought the "mass damper" was illegal.

The spokesman added that the team hoped they would not be as far off the pace in Hungary as they were in Germany.

"That was more down to tyre wear at Hockenheim," the spokesman said. "We hadn't seen an exponential rise in tyre wear without the mass damper before that - certainly not at Jerez (where Renault tested without the system before the German race)."

The "mass damper" is a counterweight mounted on springs within the nose of the car that enhances stability.

Renault learned before the German race that they would not be allowed to use the system, which they pioneered last season and which has subsequently been adopted by six other teams.

The FIA said before the race that it considered the system to be illegal because it helped the cars' aerodynamics.

But the FIA's race stewards in Germany then passed the system as legal - only for FIA bosses to say they intended to lodge an appeal against that decision.

As that appeal will not take place until after this weekend's race in Hungary, Renault felt they could not risk running the suspension system in Germany as they could have subsequently lost the points it scored if the FIA won its appeal.

But the FIA indicated after the German race that it would not seek to retrospectively punish any team using a "mass damper" if its appeal was successful.

Renault said following that announcement initially that it would use the system in Hungary, but a subsequent letter from FIA race director Charlie Whiting to the teams changed their minds.

Renault was hurt by the ban more than other teams because its entire car was designed around the system, whereas others had simply added it on at a later date.

As a result, not having the system causes Renault much greater problems with the behaviour of its car's aerodynamics and suspension.

And the blow is even worse because F1 is in the middle of a ban on testing, which means the team cannot try out ways of improving the car other than at races, where track time is limited.

Engineering boss Pat Symonds admitted that the team's performance was harmed by not running the "mass damper".

He said after the German race that "it goes without saying that removing the mass damper degraded our performance, otherwise the component would not have been on the car throughout the season.

"After using the device for the first time in the final races of 2005, the design and development of this year's car was optimised with it in place.

"The ride and the behaviour over kerbs of the R26 at the last race was certainly not as good as we have been accustomed to this year. But there were other factors at work as well."

Renault also struggled with tyre blistering, which was almost certainly worsened by not using the "mass damper", but they are hopeful that a new tyre for Hungary will solve that problem.

The team will also continue with a new aerodynamic package that was introduced in Germany, where its effectiveness was limited by the team's other problems.

Renault are facing a tough task holding on to their championship lead as Ferrari's tyre supplier Bridgestone has appeared to have an advantage over Michelin in the last three races.

Renault's Fernando Alonso heads into Sunday's Italian Grand Prix with a double dose of motivation to win.

The Spaniard wants to extend his points lead over Michael Schumacher, but he is also keen to inflict the pain of a home defeat on the German's Ferrari team.

"This year I have won in Silverstone, in Monaco, in Spain - and for sure I want to win Monza, too," he said.

"It is one of the legendary tracks so it would be special, and even more so to beat Ferrari in their home race."

Alonso extended his championship lead to 12 points by finishing second ahead of Schumacher at the last race in Turkey.

But he admits that victory at Monza will be tough - Ferrari have been the pace-setters in F1 for the last three months.

"There is only one target for the Renault team at the moment - to finish in front of Ferrari," he said.

"They have been quite dominant in the last races, so beating them means winning races. That is our focus."

Alonso has taken encouragement from his result in Turkey, which was won by Schumacher's team-mate Felipe Massa.

He finished second even though the team were prevented from racing their "mass dampers", a device that aids tyre grip but which has been declared illegal by the sport's bosses.

"I think the team did a fantastic job in Turkey," Alonso said.

"We have had a strange summer, with the mass damper decision and some poor results, so it was good to prove to everybody that the car is competitive regardless.

"We really fought hard in that race, and it shows we are ready to fight with Ferrari all the way to the end of the championship."

Renault feel hard done by, especially because governing body the FIA had declared the mass damper legal when the team first decided to run it at the end of last season.

But technical director Bob Bell said the ban had made the team more determined to win the title than ever.

"Clearly, the team suffered from the fact that the loss of the mass damper coincided with the summer test ban," Bell said.

"We have now had the chance to reoptimise the R26, and the events of the summer have made us hungrier to prove we can do the job.

"Our points-scoring momentum might have dipped, but importantly there is no loss of momentum in the team's effort to put out a winning car at each race.

"We will be working as hard as humanly possible to come out on top of what will be a very close battle, as the advantage swings back and forth between us and Ferrari."

New Renault test driver Nelson Piquet Jr will make his debut for the Renault F1 team at Silverstone next week.

Piquet, runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the GP2 series, will tests at the Northamptonshire circuit with Renault's 2007 race driver Heikki Kovalainen.

Piquet, whose father Nelson won three F1 championips, said: "I am really looking forward to my first test.

"It will be a great chance to learn as much as I can and get to know everybody at the team."

The 21-year-old, who has also driven in the A1 GP series, added: "I like Silverstone very much and I have driven there a lot.

"So it's good that I don't have to worry about learning the track, I can just focus on driving a front-running car like the R26 for the first time.

"I am happy that I am getting three full days of testing because it will be more car time than any other F1 car I've driven."

Renault will also use former F1 driver Ricardo Zonta in their testing programme.

Formula One bosses have moved to stop a repeat of last weekend's qualifying controversy that resulted in Fernando Alonso being punished for blocking.

Renault were angered after Ferrari's complaint against Alonso was upheld by Italian Grand Prix race stewards.

The decision meant Alonso was dropped from fifth to 10th for Sunday's grid.

But a letter by governing body the FIA said complaints about blocking in qualifying would "no longer be referred to the stewards of the meeting".

Although world champion Alonso was penalised for impeding Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, in-car video footage suggested the two were never closer than 100m.

But race stewards decided, after the matter was brought to their attention, that Massa had been impeded - albeit unintentionally.

The decision provoked widespread criticism inside the F1 paddock, with Renault head Flavio Briatore and Alonso suggesting afterwards that the championship was being manipulated in Ferrari's favour.

Alonso went into the Italian race with a 12-point lead over Schumacher, but his demotion limited his chances of preventing his rival closing the gap.

In the end, Alonso retired with engine failure having climbed up to third and Schumacher now trails him by only two points with three races remaining.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting wrote to the managers of all 11 teams this week explaining procedural changes as a result of the furore.

"Only in cases where it appears to race control that there has been a clear and deliberate attempt to impede another driver will the stewards be asked to intervene," Whiting wrote.

"We now feel it is pointless for the stewards to engage in long and painstaking enquiries if competitors ignore clear scientific evidence and instead abuse the regulator," he added, clearly referring to Renault's reaction.