Alonso not frustrated by Renault form

Former world champion Fernando Alonso insists he is not frustrated by the form of his Renault team, despite a difficult start to the season.

Although the Spaniard delivered fourth place in the Australian Grand Prix, his R28 does not have the pace that it needs to challenge for wins yet. In Malaysia, Alonso finished seventh, 70 seconds behind the winner Kimi Raikkonen.

But despite the situation, which marks a step down of form for the 26-year-old following world championship assaults over the past three years, Alonso has said he is not irritated by what is happening.

“As long as you approach the grand prix knowing that (the car is not quick enough) and you have no surprises, then it is not frustrating,” he explained.

“It is something I knew from the winter testing. We are not at the level of the top teams, so we need to keep improving.

“It is not the time to give up. It is the time to work even harder than the others, and try to recover the gap. So let`s see in the coming races, in the coming months, if we can do a good job with the car and make it more competitive.”

Alonso thinks the Renault is currently only good enough to fight for a top 10 position in qualifying, and a points finish in the race

“We are struggling to be in Q3 and targeting points in the race,” he said. “That is the situation now - no surprises. It is more or less what we expected but the improvements are coming, so we need to improve the situation.”

26.3.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Alonso, Renault    ▪ www.autosport.com