Alonso: Renault's Pace Overestimated

Renault's Spanish driver Fernando Alonso has admitted he will need to get lucky to stand any chance of gaining a podium finish in his home Grand Prix.

Home fans had hoped that Oviedo-born Alonso could build on a fourth-place finish at Imola and push for a podium place in Spain - but he could only qualify in eighth place on the grid. The Spaniard believes his chances of victory were overestimated by his partisan supporters and insisted he would be fortunate to challenge for a place in the top three.

"I think the press talked too much about Renault before coming here but we knew when we came here that BAR and Williams would probably be in front of us as we saw," said Alonso. "I can hope for the best result possible - sometimes the races are okay and you can get a podium maybe, and sometimes you get in traffic.

"I will just do the maximum I can for everyone."

Alonso is currently fifth in the World Championship, behind Ferrari pairing Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button and Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

He has finished every race in the points this year, despite starting from 19th on the grid in Malaysia and 17th in Bahrain.