First-second finish helps reduce gap with Renault (ANSA) - Indianapolis, July 3 - Ferrari's one-two win at the United States Grand Prix has given a boost to the Italian team's hopes of closing the gap with Renault and winning the Formula 1 championship .

Seven times champion Michael Schumacher won the race ahead of teammate Felipe Massa, his best-ever career finish, placing him now 19 points behind reigning world champion Fernando Alonso, who finished fifth in his Renault .

Alonso's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella placed third which meant that Ferrari was only able to reduce its gap with leader Renault from 31 to 26 points in the constructors championship .

According to Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the team's first-second finish, the first of the year and the first since the USA Grand Prix last year, "shows how we never give up at Ferrari. We are very pleased" .

Schumacher who also grabbed pole position on Saturday, was beaming after the race and said "it doesn't get much better than this. I'm happy because we picked up six points which are important for the championship and I remain firmly convinced that we still have a crack at the title. There's no reason why we shouldn't win it" .

"What we need to do now is start winning every time," he added .

The Formula 1 circus now returns to Europe for the July 16 French Grand Prix where Ferrari principal Jean Todt said "we must put together a better package" .

"We obviously must use tires which suit the weather conditions and type of asphalt there. But I think we can be competitive," he explained .

"We could have won at Monte Carlo, which is a slow track, and we won at Indianapolis, which is a fast one. the trick is adapting our potential specifically to each track in order to first do well in qualifying and then in the race itself," he added .

With 80 points still up for grabs, winning every race will not be enough for Schumacher to clinch the title, if Alonso comes in a constant second .

"It's not over yet and no one should ever believe in foregone conclusions. I always said this when when we were winning and the same goes now that we are playing catch up," Todt said .

The Canadian Grand Prix was also a fortunate one for Italian drivers and first the first time in some 20 years three of them took home points: Fisichella, Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who came in fourth, and Vitantonio Liuzzi, who finished eighth and collected not his but also his team Toro Rosso's first point of the season .

(photo: Ferrari's USA Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher)