Briatore happy for Alonso to focus on title

Renault boss Flavio Briatore is happy for Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren to continue their winning streak – as long as world championship leader Fernando Alonso is close behind.

Alonso holds the upper hand in the title battle despite Raikkonen’s victory in yesterday's Turkish Grand Prix, with a 24-point advantage to defend over the remaining five races.

The Spaniard’s lead is such that even if Raikkonen and team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya finish one-two in all the remaining races, Alonso could still win the title.

McLaren have waited over five years for another one-two and saw a golden opportunity slip away at the Istanbul Otodrom yesterday when Montoya’s error gifted second place to Alonso on the penultimate lap.

Alonso was comfortably beaten by both McLarens but Briatore is looking only at the championship table for the rest of the season and as long as his man sits on top, he will be happy.

The Italian said: “I think it is difficult to win because McLaren are very competitive but if it is not possible to win then we must do the best possible.

“Fernando is still 24 points ahead of Raikkonen in the championship and we are not fighting for wins, we are fighting for the championship.

"For the moment, Fernando has more wins and we will see about it at the next race. We look race by race, we are still 24 points in front.

“McLaren are very strong. We had a very strong start to the season, McLaren are having a second part stronger but points are points and we are still in front.”

Despite the lengthening odds on a Raikkonen title, McLaren chief Ron Dennis is not giving up hope and has warned Briatore he plans to pressurise Renault into mistakes.

McLaren’s poor reliability record at crucial times this season has let Renault and Alonso off the hook and kept Raikkonen at arm’s length in the championship.

But Dennis is plotting a high-pressure end to the season in a bid to claim a first drivers’ championship since Mika Hakkinen’s in 1999.

“Hopefully we can force Renault into some errors and if we do who knows, we might have an opportunity to go for the championship,” he said.

“There are circumstances both in and out of our control why the team haven’t won as many races but there’s still every opportunity, there’s still 50 points to go.”

Dennis is convinced Raikkonen will have the fastest car on the grid at his disposal over the remaining five races, and is hoping to net a title double.

“We are very comfortable we are going to be quick in the remaining races,” he added.

“There’s nothing we can do about the performance of another team. Our objective is to do what we can and who knows what’s going to happen in the future.

“It’s a world championship determined by the finishing record of all of the cars over all the grands prix.

“Clearly constructors’ championship is out strength and that is a realistic target but we are still totally focused on giving our driver the best opportunity to win the championship.”

McLaren are just nine points adrift of Renault in the constructors’ championship heading into the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in two weeks.