Renault a step ahead, says de la Rosa

The Spaniard, however, has warned the French squad that McLaren will fight back in the following three Grands Prix.

"The championship is being too easy for Renault," de la Rosa told reporters at the Barcelona circuit. "They are a step ahead, but they better not get distracted because we have a lot of improvements for Imola, Nurburgring and Barcelona."

Renault have dominated the start of the season, winning the first three races with Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella. The world champions lead McLaren by 42 points to 23.

"The most important thing is that, in the next three or four races, Renault don't reinforce their position, otherwise it will happen the same as last year and then it will be very hard," de la Rosa added.

Renault enjoyed a strong start to the 2005 season too, and although the McLaren looked like the fastest car for a big part of the year, the French team eventually took both titles.