A Straight fight between McLaren and Renault
New world champion Fernando Alonso heads into this weekend`s Japanese Grand Prix knowing he still has a tough battle ahead as his Renault team fight with McLaren for the constructors` crown. Alonso eased his way to the drivers` world title at the last race in Brazil when he put himself out of reach of Kimi Raikkonen with a third place finish.
But with two races to go the constructors` championship is balanced on a knife edge with McLaren, the form team with five wins from the last five races, leading Renault by just two points.
Alonso is expecting plenty of attention following his title victory."When I get in the car I will be working like normal because we have a race to do and another championship to win," said the Spaniard. "I believe the truth is that we have been the best in this 2005 season and we will be working at full power to win the constructors` title too. I always enjoy Japan and I think we can do it."
The constructors` championship is now a straight fight between McLaren Mercedes and Renault with Ferrari, the team who have held that title since 1999, out of contention in third some 66 points behind. McLaren boss Ron Dennis believes his team is so far ahead in terms of performance that he is ready to allow drivers Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya to battle for race wins even if that costs them the title. He is more concerned with wracking up an impressive win record having already seen the team secure nine wins from the 17 races so far, with Montoya on three and Raikkonen on six.
"We will give it our all to win the constructor`s world championship by aiming to score the best possible results in Japan and China, and I think that we have the package to achieve this," Raikkonen stated.
Last year`s Japanese race was almost washed out by Typhoon Ma-On, which threatened to strike the track on the Saturday and caused qualifying to be run on Sunday morning, but was eventually won by Michael Schumacher. Outgoing world champion Schumacher does not expect a repeat success this season but he is hoping that some improved pace shown by his Ferrari team in Brazil could boost their hopes of retaining third in the title race.
"When I see each and every one of us continue working, I can say that everyone is anything but discouraged," said Schumacher. "Our new challenge will be not to let the down last very long. We want to fight for the championship again next year. It won`t have any impact on our motivation for next year though, we`ll be highly motivated anyway. So now we are off to Japan and will try to make the best of it."
Jenson Button is also keen to end the season on a high and point BAR Honda team towards a better future despite a disappointing seventh at the last race. But it will be his team-mate Takuma Sato who will be hoping for the biggest result as the Japanese driver prepares to race in front of his fans in a Honda-powered machine for the last time before he leaves the team.
However the destination of the sport`s second world title will be down to whether Alonso and his Italian team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella can take on the mighty dominance of McLaren and upset the form book. Renault will bring in new modifications to their car as they continue to push for the title double and Fisichella promised: "We are not at McLaren`s level in terms of pure speed, but we are closer and it will be a big fight."
Renault Technical Director Bob Bell warned McLaren that his team is still on the attack and said: "There is no sign anybody is now thinking they can relax, we are determined to go win the constructors` title. We will do whatever it takes and the reality is that the team which drops a race finish from either car in the last two races will probably lose the title, so we cannot afford to forget any of our attention to detail. Fernando will be more aggressive in his driving style now. His real strength is he is intelligent and knows when it is right and safe to push. He will carry on doing that and he won`t be an easy man to overtake in Japan and China."


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