Relaxed Alonso targeting title

By Lee McKenzie and Sarah Holt BBC Sport in Singapore

Fernando Alonso says his experience as a double world champion could give him an edge as he chases the 2010 crown.

The Ferrari driver is third overall, 21 points behind Red Bull's Mark Webber, who is chasing his first title.

Alonso told BBC Sport: "Fighting for a first championship is really intense. Sometimes it is not the best thing.

"[I] don't have the pressure of becoming a world champion. You race in a more relaxed way. You know what you have to do."

Alonso, Webber, the McLarens of successive world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel are separated by a race victory with just five left to decide the title.

We arrive at a point where there is not reverse gear anymore. It is just flat out Fernando Alonso

Alonso put himself right back in the title fight with victory two weeks ago in Italy but the Spaniard says he never considered himself out of the running.

"I knew that one race can put you in the championship," said Alonso, who also took the chequered flag in Bahrain and Germany.

"Being in a competitive car now with Ferrari, I'm very confident that I can do well in Singapore.

"We will be 90% at a lot of the tracks. We don't have any disadvantage in any track so we can benefit from this consistency."

Momentum is already on Alonso's side as he has collected more points from the last four races than any of his chief rivals.

Highlights - Webber sets first practice pace

And Alonso, who won the 2005 and 2006 titles with Renault, acknowledges that consistency could be the key to the championship.

"It is true that with five races to go, if you have a bad race or a retirement it becomes more difficult," added Alonso.

"So we arrive at a point where there is not reverse gear anymore. It is just flat out."

Ferrari have arrived in Singapore with a batch of updates - including a diffuser, front wing and various other aerodynamic aids - devised to add pace on the high-downforce street circuit.

On Thursday, Hamilton singled out his former McLaren team-mate Alonso as his biggest title rival.

Jonathan Legard's blog All five contenders know, like the rest of us, that this event in Singapore could become a turning point in the season.

But Alonso believes it is Red Bull, whose drivers Webber and Vettel have won six races between them in 2010, who pose the biggest threat to his quest for a third title.

"We know Red Bull are maybe the favourites," said Alonso, who was fourth fastest in practice in Singapore on Friday despite missing the final 25 minutes' running after sliding off the track,.

"They have had the best car for the whole of the 2010 season.

"We know it is going to be hard, we respect a lot our rivals but at the same time I'm sure we will have a chance."

Watch Fernando Alonso's interview during this weekend's coverage of the Singapore Grand Prix. The qualifying programme starts at 1400 BST on Saturday with Sunday's race show starting at 1410.

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