Schumacher waits for Alonso to slip up

On the back of his victories at Imola and the Nurburgring, Schumacher's pace in practice and qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix had left the way open for a hat-trick of successes.

But in the race, Ferrari's pace slumped and allowed Alonso to take a comfortable win in front of his delighted home crowd.

Although that defeat meant Alonso extended his advantage in the title chase, Schumacher has said he remains calm about the situation - especially because he is convinced that eventually his rival is going to get things wrong.

When asked if he is feeling under pressure to close down the gap on Alonso, especially because the Spaniard is renowned for not making mistakes, Schumacher told Gazzetta dello Sport: "No. I don't feel pressured by this situation, it's normal. Likewise, it's normal to expect some errors from him sooner or later."

Schumacher is confident about Ferrari's chances of success in next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, even though the team have not won there since 2001.

"I can't wait to be there," he said. "Everything is a bit crazy there, with safety problems and various difficulties, but racing next to the guard rails is an indescribable feeling.

"We hope we'll be able to be quick in Monaco. We're working on two fronts (testing at Paul Ricard and Fiorano this week), and I seen no reason not to be confident."

Speaking about whether the race was very open, with Renault's renowned excellent traction likely to give them an advantage, Schumacher said: "Honestly I don't see them being advantaged. If we look at Spain you can't say anything, they were undoubtedly better. But at Imola and Nurburgring we were the strongest.

"Ours is a fine car that allows us to be competitive anywhere."