Renault promise Alonso better car

p class=”first”>Renault have assured Fernando Alonso there will be a big boost in his car`s performance at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Alonso came 10th at last week`s Bahrain Grand Prix, the latest disappointment in an underwhelming start to the season for the two-time world champion.

“We`re working on an updated aerodynamic package that`s going well,” said engineering head Pat Symonds.

“I`d be very disappointed if we hadn`t found half a second improvement per lap and our rivals had only found 0.3.”

Renault have not won a race since 2006, when the Spanish driver won the second of his two titles.

Alonso, who has been linked with a move to Ferrari, has scored six points in the three Grand Prix so far this season.

There is a new package for the Barcelona Grand Prix, and we have confidence that we will improve the car Fernando Alonso

But as a driver more used to fighting for the world title, Alonso has admitted that the team`s performance has not been good enough.

“The first three races were not as good as we expected,” said the Spanish driver.

“We were not aiming for a podium or anything like that but being in the points was not too difficult we thought.”

Alonso will be particularly keen to impress in front of his home fans when the Spanish Grand Prix gets under way on 27 April.

“There is a new package for the Barcelona Grand Prix, and we have confidence that we will improve the car,” he said.

“It is just a matter of how much the others will improve as well, so we are a little bit concerned about our performance at the moment.

“But this weekend we have been around 12th or 13th position in all the free practice and qualifying, so we need to make a bigger step.”

Symonds says Alonso has impressed the team with his determination, despite the difficult circumstances.

“Fernando is still driving his heart out, which is great,” he added.

“That is what we really like about the bloke, complete commitment.

“We went through those problems last year, identified those problems and we went about fixing them but we are still behind.”

7.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Alonso, Renault    ▪ news.bbc.co.uk