`Alonso has sealed his McLaren exit`
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Flav: Alonso welcome at Renault
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Bernie Ecclestone on Sunday vowed to try to woo Michael Schumacher out of retirement.

In an interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, the 76-year-old F1 chief executive admitted to missing Schumacher, who retired at the end of last year as a seven time world champion, in 2007.

"I would of course be very happy if Michael came back," Ecclestone said, admitting that the loss of the former Ferrari star was potentially a big blow for his sport.

He continued: "Thank God for Lewis. But can you imagine the duel of Michael versus Hamilton? That would be great - I'll have to work on it."

Speculation was already doing the rounds that Ecclestone was trying to entice Schumacher out of retirement after they met privately inside Bernie's motorhome recently at the Nurburgring.

Ecclestone plays down the story.

"We just talked about his new life," Ecclestone explained, "and we played backgammon - and as far as a remember, it was a draw!"

Ecclestone also admitted to enjoying the current spat between McLaren drivers Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

"It's like Prost and Senna," he said, "which is good for the fans. I hope they continue to fight freely with one another with the fastest one winning - I hate team orders.

"I know it is not easy for the bosses to deal with but it is fascinating for us. These types of confrontations have been too rare recently."

He also denied that the ongoing espionage saga is damaging F1.

"I think it's good," Bernie said, "because it fills up the newspapers. Every big sport has controversies, which makes it exciting."

Pedro de la Rosa ensured McLaren remained top of the timesheets for the fourth consecutive day at Monza on Friday. However, less than a hundredth of a second separated the Spaniard from Ferrari's Felipe Massa, suggesting next weekend's Italian Grand Prix will provide another close battle.

With the Monza session extended following Thursday's poor weather, nine of the 11 teams chose to stay on, although following overnight rain it wasn't until around lunchtime that the circuit finally dried, allowing for several hours' running.

The teams will be back at the track next Thursday, ahead of Friday's first practice for round 13 of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Unofficial Friday times from Monza:
1. Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren, 1:23.285
2. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:23.289
3. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:23.575
4. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:23.962
5. Jenson Button, Honda, 1:24.537
6. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Toro Rosso, 1:24.760
7. Ralf Schumacher, Toyota, 1:24.171
8. Anthony Davidson, Super Aguri, 1:24.919
9. David Coulthard, Red Bull, 1:25.185