Oct.7 (GMM) Fernando Alonso kept his championship hopes alive on Sunday by finishing second while his McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton slid into the gravel.



But the now four-point gap to his British rival with just the Brazilian grand prix to go means that the Spaniard has to aim for more than simply a win in Sao Paulo in two weeks.



"It's a very difficult championship," the 26-year-old told reporters after the wet and dry Chinese grand prix in Shanghai.



"I know it will not be easy to take four points off Lewis."



Alonso had written off his chances of closing the then 12-point gap to Hamilton after qualifying on Saturday, when he hinted that his fourth place had been the result of inequitable conditions within his team.



Contemplating Brazil, he said after the Chinese GP: "The performance will be, I hope, very similar between the two of us.



"Hopefully I can do a good race, but for the championship I still have (to do) something really dramatic if I want to win."