Briatore says winning will be impossible

Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa's dominance on Saturday has left Briatore in no doubts that world championship leader Fernando Alonso and teammate Giancarlo Fisichella are going to be outperformed tomorrow at Indianapolis.

"What we are doing now, since it is impossible to win the race, we need to make sure we finish the race on the podium," said Briatore.

"Like I have said all the time - it is impossible to win every race. In nine races this year we have won seven times and that is okay.

"It seems to be only between Ferrari and us tomorrow, because I don't see anyone in the middle who will separate us.

"If we have a good race and a good start and we finish the race, then maybe we get one of the drivers of Ferrari, maybe not. But it is important we go back to England with much more points than we came here."

Briatore believes that Renault's drubbing today is partly the result of the tyres that Michelin brought to this race.

Although the French tyre company are adamant that they approached this weekend in an aggressive frame of mind, Briatore is convinced that they were slightly cautious after last year's problems.

"I believe Michelin is very conservative here, but that is normal after last year," he said. "And if I was in their position I would do exactly the same.

"The most important thing in the US is to make sure we give a race. We know before we came here it would be one of toughest races and I believed Canada was going to be tough but we managed very well.

"There is no pressure on Renault to win the race. That is for someone else."

When asked whether he would have liked Michelin to have been more aggressive, he said: "No, I don't think so. Michelin have done a very good job for us all season."