Alonso plays down Renault rift.

After his surprisingly sharp comments angled towards Renault in the press earlier in the week and then again in Thursday's press conference, Fernando Alonso insists there are no problems from within the team after press attention forced him to clarify his opinion.

Hitting out at both the team and team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella for not aiding his title challenge recently, Alonso suggested earlier in the week that Renault are sabotaging his attempts to take the number 1 status to McLaren when he moves to the team for 2007.

However, the global reaction to his words in the press have prompted Alonso to step back from his comments and reiterate there is no rift in the team, claiming he was merely expressing personal feelings, even if they are ones that don't necessarily corroborate with the team's.

"Off the track, I was surprised by the strong reaction to what I said yesterday in the press conference," he admitted. "I expressed very clearly that these were only my personal feelings, and that completely understand and accept the team's decisions."

Alonso goes to the Japanese Grand Prix level on points with Michael Schumacher and this latest controversy surrounding an increasingly bitter exit from the team has already distracted the attention away from what is a crucial race for the reigning champion.

Indeed, Alonso continued to dwell on the Chinese Grand Prix in the press conference after losing an almost certain victory with a tyre choice mistake. With that in mind, Alonso queried why Fisichella passed him midway through the race leaving him hopelessly vulnerable to Schumacher, while he also questioned why the team did not induce a better strategy in light of his problems.

Nonetheless, Alonso, who was fourth in the rain-affected free practice session behind both Ferraris and Fisichella, insists the atmosphere in the team is fine and the objective of taking both the driver and constructor crowns is as important as ever.

"Last night, I explained that to the team and to Fisi, and there is no problem. Every single person at Renault is fighting to the maximum to win the championship. I don't know what people see from the outside, but within the team, we have a fantastic atmosphere right now. And we are determined to come out on top."