Alonso urges Renault to improve

Although the R26 has been one of the strongest cars in testing so far, Alonso fears that his rivals have enough time to close down the gap on the French car manufacturer before Bahrain.

"So far the pre-season is going very well and if the championship would start tomorrow, Renault would be the favourites," he said in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena SER. "But there's still one month to go and our rivals can catch up. We've got up to speed quicker than them."

Alonso's biggest fears surround the team's V8 engine - which he believes is currently behind Honda and Ferrari in the power stakes. His comments amazingly come at the same time as Honda's claims that they are lagging behind Cosworth.

When asked whether he believed Honda had the best engine in the field, Alonso said: "Yes, they're quick in every track and in the paddock everyone thinks they have the most powerful engine around.

"We're going pretty quick, but in terms of horse power we have Honda and Ferrari ahead of us. It's one of the areas in which we need to improve."

Alonso's desire to get Renault to improve comes from his belief that the front of the field will be more competitive this year than in 2005 - when it was pretty much a straight fight between McLaren and Renault.

"I think this year things will be much closer at the top," he said. "Everything is open and the championship will be a lot of fun.

"We'll have more teams fighting for GP victories. Unfortunately for me it won't be like in 2005, when only McLaren and Renault were up there, race in, race out."

He added: "I don't think I'm the only favourite, but just one of them. Both Honda drivers, both Ferrari drivers and both Renault drivers are among the favourites for the first three or four races of the season."

And Alonso has no doubts at all that former champion Michael Schumacher will be back to his best this year after the disappointments of 2005.

"He's very motivated," explained Alonso. "He's always motivated. I suppose that after losing the title last year he'll come back for revenge stronger than ever. "