Alonso: no extra pressure for 'home' race

The Spaniard finished fourth at the Nurburgring, holding off Michael Schumacher at the final corner despite suffering from brake problems, and he is hoping for an even stronger result at Magny-Cours.

"I don't think it brings added pressure," said Alonso about racing in France. "Myself and the team always do the best we can, whatever the race. It will be a very special event for the team, especially the guys from Virv [Renault's engine plant in France], and if we are going to get a strong result, then there is no better place to do it! However, Formula 1 is always difficult: you cannot ever make predictions with any certainty."

The Magny-Cours track has been revised since Alonso last raced there, and the Spaniard thinks the new layout could provide another passing spot. "I have only seen the changes on a circuit map, but they look quite big - the end of the lap is very different," he said.

"From what I can tell, I think the alterations will definitely help overtaking. The new chicane just before the start-finish line looks quite interesting too..."

One driver who has driven the revised track is Franck Montagny, who will replace Allan McNish as Renault's Friday morning test driver this weekend.

"Honestly, the changes don't make a massive difference," said Montagny, who raced on the track in the Dallara Nissan World Series. "80 to 85 percent of the circuit is still the same. They have replaced a medium-slow corner with a hairpin, introduced another hairpin and a chicane. From a driving point of view, they are not necessarily the most challenging corners: the drivers will get used to the new section pretty quickly.

"The new layout has created another potential passing place, although there wasn't much overtaking in the World Series race. We'll see when we get there!"