Alonso not suprised by Raikkonen award

With Autosport's readers having voted Raikkonen as International Racing Driver of the Year at the Autosport Awards on Sunday, Alonso claims there is nothing out of the ordinary in people not acknowledging the job he did this season.

"I think it is normal, because people always say this at the end of a Championship," he said. "When Hakkinen won with McLaren, they said Michael was best but he did not have the car.

"It was the same with Senna in the 1990s, when Williams dominated but it was said Senna would have won in that car. But to win, you need to be in the best car, at the best moment: it is a combination. This year was the moment, the right car was the Renault, and the driver is me."

Alonso knows that the lack of plaudits he received at the end of the year were probably as a result of the fact that he played the percentage game for much of the season in a bid to protect his championship lead.

And he has admitted that it was difficult to drive like that - even though it was the correct approach to win the title.

"I had to think about the big prize," he explained. "I could have taken risks to win each race, but I had to think about the wider picture. We made a good start to the year, then controlled the performance during the summer.

"With Montoya in Brazil and Silverstone, I lifted off because of the championship. But that all changed in Suzuka and China..."

And he admits that his dominant victory in China, when he was able to race at full pace without worrying about losing his drivers' title, was extra satisfying.

"It was great because we won, we beat McLaren on their level and were up there when we needed to be. Before, they were ahead because we were defending the championship. Then we took more risks with the chassis and engine and showed we were equal."

Alonso will test for one day next week to learn about the levels of power expected in 2006, before taking a break for Christmas and returning in the New Year with the team's new challenger.

"I am taking nothing for granted because every team starts from zero again, but I think we are preparing very well at the moment," he said.