Alonso downplays Monza hopes

"Budapest was three weeks ago now. It was a fantastic feeling but now we are focussing on the job ahead. Nobody is going to Monza expecting us to repeat what we did in Hungary, but we are confident of scoring points at every circuit this season. "

Renault are expected to drop back to earth this weekend after their dominant victory on the slow Hungaroring. Monza is the fastest track on the calendar, and Renault still haven't quite got the power of their rivals. In addition, the fact that all the F1 teams tested at Monza last week means that Renault will not gain the usual advantage from their two hours of extra track time on Friday morning. But Executive Director of Engineering Pat Symonds says the session will still be useful.

"We cannot expect the two-hour session to be the extreme advantage it has been at other tracks. Having said that, a test like Monza is always busy, with lots of red flags, and you never quite finish everything you set out to do. We can use the extra time to round off the final details we didn't take care of last week."

Renault have a Monza-specific aerodynamic package, and have pointed out that their car's strength in Monza's high-speed corners should not be underestimated. Alonso's team-mate Jarno Trulli has clearly been infected by the enthusiasm of the team.

"The car has been very quick recently, as we have seen at the last few races," said Trulli. "The circuits in Germany and Hungary were very different, but we were fast at both. I think the whole team is confident of getting a good result."

Renault, along with other Michelin teams, will be running the new-style tyres, but Symonds is not worried by any tyre-related controversy or drop in performance, but actually has reason to expect the opposite.

"I think the tyre issue was a distraction over a minor issue. We quickly understood the effects of the new tyres on speed and balance. Indeed, running the new profile we found ourselves to be slightly faster. I don't think the tyre revamp will provoke any change in the status quo between the manufacturers."