Alonso: Monaco Problems are Behind

The Spanish driver, winner of three races this year, saw his streak of podium finishes end at the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend after struggling with tyre problems in the latter part of the race.

Alonso could only manage fourth place, which his team labelled as a miracle given the condition of his Michelin tyres.

The race was dominated by McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, who scored his second consecutive victory to move into second place in the standings.

Alonso, however, believes Monaco was an exception and he expects Renault to be fighting at the top this weekend at the Nurburgring.

"The car is good and I don't think there is any reason why we should not be competitive here," said Alonso. "It's all okay, I have no worries. We took a risk in Monaco to win the race and that is a good example of how we are not thinking of the Championship.

"Sometimes you can win and sometimes not, when you cannot win, the best thing is second and if you cannot be second the best thing is third and so on. You have to manage the situations.

"It's true that McLaren won the last two but we won the first four so the car should be good enough to be quick here this weekend."

With rivals McLaren looking like the favourites at the moment, Alonso thinks his team could benefit from a return to form from Ferrari this weekend.

The World Champions have struggled so far this season, but are hoping a change to the qualifying system could help them fight at the top.

"We only saw one good race from them, that was Imola," he said. "If the races are like the first three they will not be in a position to win but if they are like Imola there will be a good fight.

"It's one more team in the first positions and maybe this helps us even more because if it can be between us, McLaren, Ferrari and BAR it is probably even better."