Alonso not worried despite problems

The Spaniard is currently 10 points behind teammate Lewis Hamilton in the points table and suffered a nightmare on Saturday afternoon when he failed to complete a flying lap in final qualifying after his McLaren hit gearbox problems.

That issue has left him tenth on the grid for the race, and with little chance of fighting Hamilton and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa for victory.

Alonso has said several times this year that he believed what started out as a four-way fight for the championship would soon narrow down as drivers dropped too far away in the points standings.

When asked whether he was now worried he was about to become one of those drivers who fell away from the fight for the championship, Alonso said: "I think we have to wait for the race. The points are for Sunday afternoon, not Saturday afternoon.

"Maybe (after the race) you can talk about a completely opposite feeling, an opposite way to approach this question. So we'll wait.

"Hopefully I can be strong in the race. When I said that we are four drivers but slowly we will become three and then maybe at the end only two, it is because you can drop back in the points and everything becomes more difficult.

"But right now, I am second in the championship. It is probably more for Kimi (Raikkonen) at the moment, because he is the furthest one from the lead."

Alonso also said he is not surprised that Ferrari have returned to form at the French Grand Prix, and that is why he was always concerned about them.

"People seem to forget after winning three races - Monaco, Canada and Indianapolis - people seem to forget Bahrain.

"I was never at that stage; I always knew they were quick and could do a very good job, and they will always be strong. To beat Ferrari is always difficult, and it will be difficult until the last race."