Alonso Cautious for Bahrain

The Spaniard, who moved to the top of the World Championship standings with his dominant victory in Malaysia, is well aware that his French manufacturer outfit had a difficult time in Bahrain last year - with Jarno Trulli and himself finishing fourth and sixth respectively.

But with rivals Ferrari appearing to be on the back foot at the moment, and the general consensus being that the team will be much stronger when their F2005 finally hits the track, Alonso is keeping the lid on his expectations for the next race of the season.

"The car was not good there last year and our rivals will get closer for sure," he said. "Toyota, Williams and McLaren will make life hard for us, and Ferrari will be back when they have fixed their problems. Michael will be fighting up there, for sure.

"We need to make the most of their drop in speed to score as many points as possible, because I am sure we will have difficult races this year as well. We need to score as many points as possible while they are struggling."

Alonso has scored 16 points in the first two races of the season, to lead Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella by six points in the Drivers' Championship table. Of the Ferrari drivers, Rubens Barrichello is a further two points adrift with eight points, while Michael Schumacher has scored just two points so far.