Alonso: Renault should ponder focus switch

The former world champion is having a frustrating time at the French car manufacturer, who are currently lying a lowly seventh in the constructors' championship.

And ahead of planned aerodynamic updates for the next two races, plus engine and gearbox improvements, Alonso thinks it is getting crunch time for Renault to decide whether to push ahead developing this year's car or switch focus to 2009.

"It's a difficult decision, no doubt," said the Spaniard. "It has to be made sooner or later. I know it's difficult, and I have a strong opinion about it. After Silverstone you have to think about it. We have a couple of developments coming for Magny-Cours and Silverstone.

"Let's wait and see what these do to the car, maybe at those tracks it will be good, so we can carry on developing this car. If it's not good, maybe the season will already be [over] so it's time to think about next year."

Although each individual improvement is unlikely to radically boost the performance of the car, Alonso believes the components added together should make a big difference.

"A small step in every area can make a huge gain," he said. "Let's wait and see. I'm sure that we can go up in the performance, and hopefully that will put us in the points for the championship."