By Jonathan Legard
BBC Sport at Madonna di Campiglio
**Ferrari’s new recruit Fernando Alonso says he is looking forward to renewing his rivalry with seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher in 2010.**Schumacher won five world titles with Ferrari but is returning with Mercedes, who, as Brawn, won both titles in 2009.
“Since Michael retired there was a lack of motivation on my part,” said Alonso, who beat Schumacher to the 2005 and 2006 titles before the German retired.
“Now there’s motivation for me to win at Ferrari and feel as he did here.”
Schumacher’s renewed rivalry with Alonso is one of the most eagerly anticipated match-ups of the new season, alongside 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton’s first competitive meeting with Schumacher.
“Michael and I were rivals over the last two years,” added Alonso, who ended months of speculation by signing a three-year deal with Ferrari in September.
“There was intense rivalry going into the last race of 2006 in Brazil [where that year’s title was decided].”
That rivalry saw relationships between the seven-time world champion and Alonso sour during their championship battle in 2006.
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“Who do you think will win this particular duel between Schumacher and Alonso”
Mike H
One flashpoint was when Schumacher deliberately crashed his car at slow speed to stop the Spaniard snatching pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Schumacher has never admitted to deliberately blocking the track but he was found guilty by race stewards and put to the back of the grid.
It was Alonso’s turn to be furious at the Italian Grand Prix later that year when he was demoted five places for allegedly holding up Schumacher’s team-mate Felipe Massa in qualifying.
Alonso has now arrived at Ferrari as Massa’s team-mate for 2010 and he donned the famous red kit for the first time this week at the team’s annual winter sports event at Italian ski resort Madonna di Campiglio.
The Spaniard has already spoken of a desire to emulate Schumacher, who captured five world titles with Ferrari to add to the two he won with Benetton.
But Alonso acknowledged that with four world champions on the track in 2010 it will be difficult to also match Schumacher’s dominance.
“You want to win always but it will also be almost impossible to repeat seven world championships,” he conceded.
"The rules are very strict, the competition is very close so it will be difficult to repeat.
“In future years with Ferrari I would like as much success as possible to end my career on a high. Coming to Ferrari is the best any driver can do in their career.”
The first challenge for Alonso is settling into a new team alongside Massa, who emerged as Ferrari’s de facto number one ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in 2008.
Alonso is known to prefer to be top dog and openly accused McLaren of favouring his team-mate Hamilton during his tumultuous 2007 season with the Woking-based team.
Massa and Alonso clashed in on-track incidents at the Spanish and European Grands Prix in 2007 but the Spaniard says struggles over the balance of power at Ferrari will not be an issue.
“We were competitive people in 2007 but we have a good relationship and this is the past,” Alonso, 28, added.
"I never ask to be the number one driver in any team but I do not want to be the number two.
“I’m not saying I want any preference but I work 110% with the team and if the team isn’t working to the same level then that’s not right.”
An exclusive BBC interview with Fernando Alonso will be embedded as video in this story later on Thursday.