Formula 1 Events

Fernando Alonso expects tough competition from the likes of Williams and Red Bull Racing as Renault look to try and re-establish themselves as a force in the Formula 1 world championship.

The Spaniard, set to commence his second spell with the team in whose cars he won the 2005 and 2006 world championships, knows Renault are a long way off the grid leaders of Ferrari and McLaren, as well as the much-improved BMW.

But he is still keen to earn podiums and believes his team will make improvements and will be closer to the front of the grid come the end of 2008.

“I am a racer and so my goal is to win races,” Alonso told formula1.com.

“I have been fortunate in my career to have had some quick cars and to be able to fight for podiums, wins and championships. This was the case with Renault in the past, and last year too.

"However, you have to be realistic, and sometimes you cannot always win; sometimes you have to be happy with knowing that you have given your best and done the maximum with the car.

“But at the moment we are not thinking like this - the team is working hard, pushing the development of the car and I hope that we will be able to fight for many podiums and even race wins.

“But there is a big gap that we still need to close. Of the other teams, I think Williams and Red Bull Racing look strong, so I think it will be a competitive year, which will be good for the fans.

“All the teams are working 24 hours a day, so it is difficult to make up this gap. We cannot work longer so we need to be clever with the time available and to do things in the right way. It is not an easy process, but I hope that we will soon make up this gap.

“Reaching Q3 will be our target, but for sure it will be competitive as all the teams are close in terms of performance, just like last year.”

Meanwhile, after last year’s strained relationship with his then McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton, Alonso has been getting to know a brand new colleague in the shape of his new Renault sidekick Nelson Piquet Jr. The ex-McLaren man says he has been getting on well with his new foil and believes that they both have the same goals.

“I am still getting to know Nelson , but so far our relationship is good and we are working well together,” he added.

“He’s seems to be a normal guy who is happy to be racing in Formula 1. Of course, he is a rookie and so he is still getting used to Formula 1 and he knows he has a lot to learn in a short time.

“But he is quick and the team knows this already as he was testing for them last year. We have the same targets and we will both work hard to develop the car as much as possible to take the team forwards.”