Sep.20 (GMM) Nick Heidfeld has backed Fernando Alonso to lift a third consecutive drivers' world championship trophy next month.

The BMW-Sauber racer described the mathematically four-way fight between both McLaren and Ferrari drivers as "fantastic", but admitted that both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen face a difficult task to close the points gap.

"Kimi is possibly a bit too far behind, but as we've seen, theirs was the superior car here," the German said last Sunday before leaving Spa-Francorchamps, according to team sponsor Credit Suisse's e-magazine.

He added: "In Monza it was the other way round, and even Felipe isn't yet completely out of it."

Heidfeld, 30, has been backing British rookie Lewis Hamilton to maintain his championship lead recently, but has now changed his mind given Alonso's closure of the points deficit to just 2 points in Belgium.

"Now I'd put my money on Alonso," he confirmed.

"He may still be just behind Lewis, but over the last couple of races he's been consistently the stronger performer."