Formula One: Schumacher Will Crack, Says Renault

Fernando Alonso will handle the pressure better than Michael Schumacher as the two men go into the closing phase of the formula one world championship in next Sunday's Chinese grand prix at Shanghai, according to Renault's Pat Symonds.

With three races to go and the Spanish driver leading his Ferrari rival by two points, this is the considered verdict of Renault's executive director of engineering, who has worked with both men during his long career in formula one and has publicly endorsed his Spanish driver.

"It goes without saying that they are both fabulous drivers and formidable competitors," said Symonds as he prepared to leave for China, "but I truly do believe that Fernando handles pressure better than Michael."

He added: "Throughout his career there have been many instances of Michael not performing to his potential when he has been under pressure. And I think the pressure for him is greater than ever in these last three races. Previously he always had the safety net of trying again next year if he didn't win. There is no 'next year' for him now."

Despite this Symonds acknowledged that the momentum of the title battle has passed to Ferrari who have won five of the past six races. Nevertheless he believes Renault have the resilience and fighting spirit to reverse that trend.

"We learned last year that momentum and psychological advantage are important, when we struck a decisive blow with our run of wins at the start of the championship. But the other thing I remember is the team's response to losing the lead of the constructors' championship in Brazil."

Alonso added: "We always knew that it would be very tight at the end of the championship and I was prepared for this. At Renault we were ready for the opening races and totally competitive: maybe we started at 95% of our maximum, while the others were at 70%. Now everybody is at 98% or 99% and the performance is very, very close. We know we have the performance to win races and we need to make it happen."