Alonso sees four-way battle this year
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-03-15 06:22

Beyond the top four, Williams showed they have impressive speed with their Cosworth engine-powering rookie Nico Rosberg to the fastest lap of the race.

"It's more or less what we thought - actually exactly what we thought after the winter testing," commented Renault engineering head Pat Symonds.

Bridgestone, unable to match Michelin's supremacy last year, appeared to be back in business with the new rules allowing tyre changes during the race.

Home track

Symonds foresaw weekends where the Michelin teams prevailed and others, such as at Ferrari's home track Imola in April, where their rivals would be stronger.

"I think Imola Ferrari will win by a very, very large margin," he suggested.

Before that, Malaysia and Australia take their turn in the limelight and McLaren will be hoping to seize the moment.

"Kimi did a fantastic job. To come from 22nd to a podium finish is stunning," said McLaren managing director Martin Whitmarsh.

"It is a bittersweet feeling, and we've had them before unfortunately throughout last year where we got some performances but didn't quite pull it together."

He added that there is a tinge of frustration but a feeling they can go out and win. "During the winter you try and assess competitiveness, and we were saying Ferrari, Renault, Honda and ourselves look the strongest," he said. "I think this has confirmed it."