Alonso exit could revitalize Renault

That is the view of team boss Flavio Briatore, who believes that the change forced on the team by Alonso's decision to quit Renault could actually prevent them getting into a rut and losing their winning touch.

Speaking about Alonso's defection to McLaren, Briatore said: "He is young, he has won a lot with the team, and he has been here for five years. So he wanted a new challenge and motivation. If he had talked to me, I would have given him a different opinion on what he should have done for his future.

"In the end, though, maybe this change is good for the team as well. You get into a cycle, and if you don't change, the winning ends.

"It happened to Benetton ten years ago, with Ferrari last year, and maybe it could have happened to Renault as well. Now, we have a fresh motivation for 2007: to make sure Renault is beating McLaren and Alonso."

Renault have not yet announced who they will be getting to replace Alonso in 2007, although team president Alain Dassas said recently the team would do what was necessary to secure a top driver.

Those comments have led to fresh speculation that they are targeting Kimi Raikkonen, but Briatore has said his only worry at the moment is in ensuring the team remain competitive to convince a leading driver to come on board.

"In our car, today, there are three or four drivers who could win races: Michael Schumacher, Alonso, Raikkonen and Fisichella, who has shown he can win races with us," he said. "For the future, there are drivers like Hamilton, or Kovalainen who could possibly win championships.

"Our job is to make sure we have the car to attract those drivers, and to do that, we need to be quicker than the opposition. That is the priority and at the moment, we are delivering."