The 25-year-old Spaniard leads Ferrari's Michael Schumacher by 10 points and needs just one more to be sure of the championship, even if the German wins the last race of his career at Interlagos.

Renault's Formula One driver Fernando Alonso speaks with mechanics inside the pit box before the second free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, as they get ready for Sunday's Brazil Grand Prix, the last race of the season, October 20, 2006. [Reuters]

Alonso finished third at the Sao Paulo circuit last year to become the sport's youngest champion and he made clear on Friday that he would play it safe again this time with so much at stake.

"?think we approach the weekend with the same motivation, the same philosophy and the same approach in terms of strategy for qualifying," he said.

"Everything should be normal, we try to do a normal race but the main objective at the end of the race is to be in the points and not win," he told reporters after Friday's free practice.

"We need to finish the race, that is for sure, and we need to avoid any risk but at the same time I think we need to prepare for the race with an absolutely normal approach."

Alonso will be mindful of Schumacher's predicament at the last race in Japan, with the 37-year-old leading until an engine failure robbed him of what would have been his eighth win of the season.

From being ahead of Alonso on race wins, he left Japan with his hopes of an eighth title in tatters.

However, Alonso also suffered an engine failure at Monza in Italy last month, when Schumacher won, and he will not want to take any risks with an engine that his team already replaced before practice as a precaution.

"Tomorrow we need to fight for pole position and try on Sunday to fight for the podium," he said.

"And if with 10 laps or 20 laps to go and you are in a comfortable position then for sure you can drop your pace a little bit."