London: Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso says he is more determined than ever to beat Ferrari's Michael Schumacher and leave Renault on a high at the end of the season.
"We have been leading all year and we want to finish in the same position," said the Spaniard, who leads Schumacher by two points with only China, Japan and Brazil remaining on the calendar.
"Honestly, I think the motivation is greater than ever. These are the last three races for me with this fantastic Renault team, and also the last races for Michelin in this era of Formula One. So our motivation to win is enormous, and I think we can do it," added the 25-year-old.
Next week's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai will be the first since a controversial Italian race that saw Alonso penalised by stewards for allegedly blocking Ferrari rival Felipe Massa in qualifying.
The Spaniard, who retired with a blown engine 10 laps from the finish at Monza, declared bitterly before that race that he no longer considered Formula One a sport.
He has also been outspoken in describing seven times champion Schumacher, who announced after his Italian Grand Prix victory that he was retiring at the end of the season, as the least sporting driver of all time.
Alonso, who was heading to Japan for a promotional event for team sponsor Mild Seven before flying to Shanghai, has had two weeks rest after missing testing due to a bruised knee.
The team have dismissed any suggestion that he has been sidelined from testing due to his impending switch to rivals McLaren.
"The important thing in the next races is to give the maximum to the team," said Alonso, who won in China last year and finished third in Japan and Brazil.
He has had six victories this season but none since June.
"We always knew that it would be very tight at the end of the championship and I was prepared for this," he added.
"At Renault, we were ready for the opening races and totally competitive. Maybe we started at 95 per cent of our maximum while the others were at 70 per cent. "Now everybody is at 98 per cent or 99 per cent and the performance is very, very close," added Alonso.
"We know we have the performance to win races and we need to make it happen."
While Alonso has seen a 25 point lead over Schumacher after the Canadian Grand Prix in June reduced to next to nothing, Ferrari have gone three points clear of Renault in the constructors' standings.
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