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All eyes on Alonso at Japan Grand Prix

Japanese Formula One racing fans wait for a chance to get an autograph outside the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, yesterday. The Japanese Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday. PHOTO: AP

Fernando Alonso enters this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix with something new -- the title of world champion attached to his name.

He didn't think that would be the case before the start of the season.

"The car was competitive in the winter, but the McLarens were quick in the winter and we all expected Ferrari to have a dominant position like the previous year," Alonso said.

That changed quickly when Renault won the Australian, Malaysian, Bahrain, San Marino and Spanish Grand Prix in succession.

"After four to five races and the team won all of them, I was quite confident that the 2005 season would be the opportunity for me," Alonso said.

"Until the last moment we never knew," the Spaniard added. "As we saw the McLarens started to be quick, the Ferraris could come back but from the beginning of the season we were happy."

Michael Schumacher, who's five year-reign as world champion with Ferrari ended when Alonso claimed the title, also saw signs over the winter that it wouldn't be Ferrari's year.

"There was some indication over the winter, but if you go back to the winter before 2004 there were similar indications but we managed to solve the situation. This year we didn't," Schumacher said.

Schumacher thinks he knows where Ferrari's problems lie.

"We understood we lost our perfection and speed that we used to have. We haven't found the answers," he said. "We have to be optimistic that we will find out."

But the German did manage to learn something new this year.

"It is still fun to drive races without winning," he said.

Alonso's next task is to help Renault overtake McLaren for the constructors' championship with two races left.

"We have a race to do, and another championship to win," Alonso said. "I believe the truth is that we have been the best in this 2005 season, and I will be working at full power now, with Fisi [Giancarlo Fisichella] to win the constructors' title too. I think we can do it."

McLaren took the lead in the constructors' championship for the first time this season in Brazil. It finished 1-2 Juan Pablo Montoya winning and Raikkonen second, giving McLaren 164 points and a two-point lead over Renault.

The constructors' championship is important because it determines the amount of money each team receives from Formula One's governing body at the end of the season.

McLaren, an eight-time champion, is looking for its first title since 1998, while Renault has yet to win the title. Ferrari, which won the past six titles, is third with 98 points, 17 ahead of fourth-place Toyota.

Last year's Japanese race was memorable. A typhoon in the area forced cancellation of Saturday's qualifying. The trials were held on Sunday morning, hours before the race.

Alonso finished fifth, giving little indication of what was to happen in 2005.

He knows distractions come with his new status.

"I expect there will be a lot of attention, a lot of questions, a lot of cameras when we get there. But when I get in the car, then I will be working like normal," Alonso said.

The 2004 Japanese Grand Prix was also Schumacher's last victory against a full field, winning en route to his fifth straight Formula One title with Ferrari and seventh overall. Since then, he has won only the US Grand Prix in June when the Renaults, McLarens and five other teams chose not to race over safety concerns of the Michelin tires.

Alonso took over as top driver and Renault as the lead team in the first part of this season. Alonso won six of the first 12 races to accumulate a significant lead in the drivers' standings while Schumacher and Ferrari struggled.

Although Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren rallied over the past two months -- McLaren has won the last five races -- Alonso had enough to clinch the title with a third-place finish in Brazil.

There is practice today on Suzuka's 5.807km circuit. Qualifying is scheduled for tomorrow with Sunday's race set for 53 laps.

Meanwhile, the Japanese race will be the 100th for the BAR-Honda team. Earlier this week, the Honda Motor Co. purchased the 55 percent of the team it did not own from British American Tobacco.

Also, Antonio Pizzonia will finish the season for Williams season since Nick Heidfeld has not recovered sufficiently from a shoulder injury while cycling last month.
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