Alonso sure Michelin made progress

The Ferrari-Bridgestone combination have won three of the last four races, allowing Michael Schumacher to close in on Alonso, now only 10 points ahead of the Ferrari driver with just five races remaining.

But Renault's world champion Alonso is optimistic the French squad and Michelin will be the package to beat from now on.

"I think they had good pace in the last four or five races," said Alonso in Turkey, where he finished second last year.

"They saw that both cars could finish on the podium if they don't have any problems so for sure their car and package has been working really nice in the last four or five races, but I think this is due to the tyre performance as well and not just the car. 

"Bridgestone made a good step forward in hot temperatures and were working really nice and I believe in the reaction of Michelin. We are working hard with them and we made some improvements and from this race on I think we will see them.

"I have no worries, I think we will be stronger than the package Ferrari have. I think Renault and Michelin will be more competitive from now on and the last five races will suit our car and package better than them."