Alonso expects more competition in 2006

The Spaniard, who captured his first world title in 2005 with Renault, announced this month a deal with McLaren from 2007 that should guarantee him competitive machinery for years to come.

But he believes that there is no way he will be able to repeat Schumacher's feats - which included capturing five consecutive World Championship titles.

Asked whether he believed Formula One was about to embark on an 'Alonso Era', the Spaniard said: "I don't know, but I don't think so. Formula One will be very competitive in the coming years.

"Michael had the good luck in the past to be in the right team at the right moment always, and to win four or five in a row is something it will be very difficult to repeat.

"I will try, and I have one championship now so I can concentrate to win more with no pressures. Whatever happens, I have proved that I can do it, and I will try to enjoy Formula One even more now than I did before."

Alonso believes the 2006 season will be a hard-fought affair and claims it is too early to make any predictions on who the main opposition will be - especially because of the switch to V8 engines.

"It is hard to know now, but the best drivers will be the ones with the best cars," he said. "So if McLaren are still competitive, then it will be [Kimi] Raikkonen and [Juan Pablo] Montoya; if not, maybe Michael and [Ferrari's Felipe] Massa, or even Toyota as well.

"I think the best teams, the big teams, will still have the best cars and engines. It will be very similar - maybe not so much fun because we have less power, but not a big difference.

"With the V10, everybody was on the limit of that engine and there was nothing new to do to be better than the opposition.

"For the first time, everybody is starting from zero, and the most intelligent engineers in developing the V8 will have a big role in winning the championship."