Alonso convinced of no Indy repeat

The Spaniard had finished either first or second in every race up to Indianapolis, where he struggled for pace and had to settle for a distant fifth as Ferrari rival Michael Schumacher stormed to victory.

But Alonso says the American race is now behind him and he believes he can finish on the podium in all the remaining Grands Prix.

"I forgot quickly Indianapolis and tried to concentrate on Magny-Cours," Alonso told reporters in France. "It is true before Indy the worst place was second and now it is fifth, so hopefully fifth will be the worst place from now on.

"And I think Indy is a very special race for us, it's never good, and I am totally confident that it will be the worst result of the year. From now we should be on the podium against constantly."

Schumacher took an important step towards having a realistic chance of fighting for the title with his Indianapolis victory, reducing the gap to Alonso to 19 points with eight races to go.

The German has insisted he can still catch Alonso.

"I think it is normal," said Alonso about Schumacher's comments. "Also Kimi thought last year that he could catch me when he was 25 or 28 points behind me. It is the normal motivation for the guy who is behind the leader and the leader it is the normal motivation to keep the advantage.

"That is the real competition, and Michael will think until the last moment in the championship and I will think until the last moment to have the championship and this will be a good fight.

"Hopefully we can keep that advantage but it is not easy. I think Ferrari is quick, Michael is quick with no mistakes and the Ferrari finish all the races so it is difficult to increase the gap and very easy to decrease it."