Briatore targets world title

Renault boss Flavio Briatore has pledged that his team will challenge for the world championship next season. The flamboyant Italian says Renault has hit all its performance targets over the past two years and is now on course to step up to Ferrari's level

Dec 22, 2004, 11:24 AM

Briatore told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "We'll be competitive in every race, and we will contend for the title. We're taking it one step at a time - two years ago, our target was becoming one of the big four teams; this season we wanted a top three. Next year..."

Renault emerged as a truly front-running team for the first time since its Benetton days last season, but its form petered off in the latter stages of the season and it was leapfrogged by BAR for second place in the constructors' championship. Briatore is philosophical, however.

"With our new engine structure [following the abandonment of the radical wide-angle design in favour of a more conventional layout], our priority was finishing races rather than winning," he said. "Honestly, BAR did a better job than us and deserved their runner-up position, even though we held second place for much of the season."