Alonso, Schumacher turn up heat in rainy Shanghai

Spanish Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of the Renault F1 team steers his car past the grandstand during the second practice session at the F1 racetrack near Shanghai, China, yesterday. The Chinese Grand Prix takes place tomorrow. PHOTO: EPA

With rain further complicating matters, arch rivals Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher raced to within one-tenth of a second of each other yesterday in practice for tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix.

Schumacher, who has whittled away at champion Alonso's lead in the drivers standings over the past six races, completed his best lap in 1 minute, 36.841 seconds in cool weather and a light drizzle.

Alonso, who holds a 108-106 point lead over seven-time champion Schumacher, completed the circuit in 1:36.739 after staying in the garage during the morning's first session.

"The fight with our closest rivals seems to be very tight even if we have not yet had time to take a close took at all the data," said Schumacher, who is seeking his eighth victory in his final season.

Alonso, recalling his victory at Shanghai last year, said he felt confident.

"This is a track I always enjoy, especially with the good memories from the championship win last year," the Spaniard said. "It still felt very good to drive today."

Formula One fans hold a banner during practice at the F1 racetrack near Shanghai, China, yesterday. PHOTO: EPA

Test drivers dominated the practice sessions at the 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit, with Williams driver Alexander Wurz clocking the fastest lap of 1:35.539, improving slightly on his morning's fastest lap of 1:35.574.

BMW Sauber's 19-year-old Sebastian Vettel, who has impressed with top practice times in the last two races, was second in the afternoon session.

One more practice session will be held this morning ahead of qualifying. Tomorrow's race is 56 laps.

With three races to go, Alonso is looking to halt any further erosion of his lead. Six races ago, Alonso led by 25 points after winning six of the first nine races of the season. Since then, he hasn't won a race and Schumacher has won four.

The competition grew even more intense after Schumacher announced his retirement following his victory at the Italian GP earlier this month. Alonso went out with an overheated engine and had some heated words concerning his penalty in qualifying for blocking Ferrari's other driver, Felipe Massa.

While Schumacher is enjoying a run of good form, the German has repeatedly met with trouble at the state-of-the-art Shanghai track. He came 12th in 2004 and finished dead last last year amid spins, freak crashes and tire blowouts.

"Compared to last year, we are much more comfortable and we hope to be able to pay back the fans with a better result than last year," Schumacher said after practice.

Alonso, on the other hand, won here last year to clinch the constructor's crown for Renault. Two races earlier, the then-24-year-old had wrapped up the driver's title in Brazil, becoming the youngest driver to win the season driving title.