Blame me if there are empty seats, says Alonso

Barcelona, May 10: Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso blamed his lack of recent success as much as the credit crunch for empty seats at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday.

Organisers expect around 100,000 spectators at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday, a far cry from the record 140,700 that turned out on race day in 2007 when Alonso arrived as Formula One champion for the second successive year.

Last year's Sunday attendance was 132,600.

However Spain is suffering in the economic crisis and ticket sales have slowed although 71,600 turned out for Saturday's qualifying to see Alonso qualify eighth with the lightest car on the grid.

"I think the crisis will have an effect probably," said Alonso, who won twice last year but has scored just five points in four races this season, when asked about the gaps in what would previously have been a sea of fans.

"It's not good that I say this, but I think it's also because we are not winning.”

"I'm sure if Renault was winning races or winning the podium, the grandstand is full. Because people know what is the situation at the moment, they are not really that interested any more," added the Spaniard, who won in Barcelona in 2006.

"In this championship there are no battles between Ferrari and McLaren, there are no battles between Hamilton, Raikkonen, Alonso. So it's a little bit difficult to explain for the people how Formula One is now."

New rules have turned the sport upside down this season with McLaren, Ferrari, BMW-Sauber and Renault all struggling to score points while newcomers Brawn GP are battling previously unheralded Red Bull and Toyota at the front.

McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton has scored just nine points in four races while Ferrari's Felipe Massa, last year's overall runner up, has none. His team mate Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 champion, has three.

Brawn's Jenson Button, a tail-ender with Honda last year, has won three races.