Alonso: We can't ignore Ferrari, McLaren.

World champion Fernando Alonso believes that McLaren and Mercedes will probably be Renault's closest rivals at the Nurburgring this weekend, but insists that the regie would be unwise to discount the threat from Ferrari.

Although conventional paddock wisdom tends to suggest that the Italian team may have benefited from the 'Imola effect' in helping Michael Schumacher taken victory last time out, Alonso refuses to fall into the same camp, hinting that the Scuderia might not be suffering a repeat of its 2005 malaise, even if he reckons that Mercedes will be pulling out all the stops on its first appearance on home soil this year.

"What we don't know at the moment is how consistent Ferrari will be," the Spaniard explained, "So far, they have been strong at the same tracks as in 2005, and not so good at others. But it is too early to say if it will be the same this year, so we can't write them off ?EUR" and Michael is racing in front of his people too.

"I am expecting a big fight again. I think the level of competition is much closer than the championship standings suggest, and there will be some big challengers. The Michelin tyres have performed very consistently at every circuit this year. They have done a great job, and it will be the same in Germany, I am sure, so we will see a big push from McLaren and Mercedes at their home race, as they are running on the same Michelin tyres as us."

Alonso went into the San Marino Grand Prix expecting a resurgence from Ferrari, and continues to insist that finishing as runner-up was within his expectations, even though he came closer than even he thought he might to victory.

"I went there saying that second would be a good result for me, because Ferrari has always been strong at Imola," he said, "They were competitive, like we expected, but I think that, in the race, the Renault was very close in performance ?EUR" and maybe even a bit quicker in race conditions."

With two wins and two second places in four races this year, the Spaniard is sitting pretty at the head of the point standings, but admits that neither he or the team can afford to rest on their laurels.

"So far, I have had perfect reliability this season, and we are working hard to make sure that continues ?EUR" while adding performance as well," he revealed, "This has been a dream start for me, because there is such a high level of competition in the field, so I hope it will continue. However, we must concentrate on our job. I have the new B-spec RS26 engine, which is a good step forward, and there are new developments on the car at every race. I am sure we can be fighting for the win on Sunday afternoon."