Motorsport: Renault hoping Alonso can shine in Suzuka

NAGOYA, Japan - Formula One champions Renault believe they can put Fernando Alonso back on top of the world in Japan this weekend after losing out to Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in China.

"The car will be fabulous around Suzuka," said engineering head Pat Symonds in a preview of Sunday's penultimate race of the season.

"It was very quick at Silverstone, both in the race there and during testing two weeks ago. A car that is quick in Silverstone is quick in Suzuka. We are very much looking forward to the next race."

Seven times world champion Schumacher leads Alonso 7-6 on race wins after going equal on points in the wet in Shanghai on Sunday with one of the great performances of the German's already extraordinary career.

The 37-year-old, now a winner of 91 races, will secure the title at Suzuka if he wins and Alonso fails to score.

"It was a good win for Schumacher yesterday and one that shows Ferrari are at the top of their game," said Symonds, who helped the German win his first two titles when they were at Benetton together.

"But we showed enough to be confident that we have the pace to fight on equal terms. Now the team needs to demonstrate the resilience to do just that."

Symonds did not try to hide just how much Sunday's defeat hurt the team, with Alonso settling into a comfortable lead from pole position before a bad tyre change allowed Schumacher to roar past on a drying track.

The Spaniard finished second, losing his two point lead while Schumacher returned to the top for the first time since the end of 2004.

"We were massively frustrated because we let ourselves down. This was clearly a race we should have won," said Symonds.

"But that is now past and we need to look ahead to Suzuka. The great thing is that the race demonstrated that whatever the conditions, the car is right back on the pace."

Renault regained the lead in the constructors' championship in Shanghai and now lead Ferrari by one point -- meaning that they could retain that title on Sunday if they finish one-two and Ferrari fail to score.

That is unlikely but Symonds was still able to take heart from what he saw in Shanghai.

"I certainly feel that our raw performance has stepped up," he said.

"We said before the weekend that the headline results of the past weeks had not shown the real pace of the car. We were quietly confident that it was the case and I am pleased that the race justified that.

"Points wise it was not a good day but pace wise we can be encouraged with what we saw."

- REUTERS