Brundle tips Alonso to shine in 2009

Although the French squad has not been the fastest in winter testing, Brundle reckons its pace has been very consistent and, having been able to improve its engine during the break, could be among the front-runners.

"Renault seem quite perky and, as ugly as the R29 looks, it appears to have solid pace," Brundle told the BBC.

"Renault - and Red Bull, who are also powered by Renault - will have 0.2 seconds per lap improvement relative to their rivals because they were allowed to modify their engine over the winter.

"They demonstrated that they were running with less power last season because they had interpreted the development freeze more literally. The upshot was the other teams agreed they could upgrade their 2009 engine.

"Whether Alonso has got a car capable of winning the world championship I don't know, but he seems confident that he has.

"If he's right then he has all the other ingredients needed to win third world title."

Brundle also thinks Renault has the best driver of the field in Alonso, who the Briton believes has no weaknesses behind the wheel.

"I don't see many weaknesses in Alonso when he is behind the wheel - he has the full deck of cards," he added.

"Right now the 27-year-old is the most complete F1 driver out there in my view. He is in the Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost mould - and they won 11 titles between them."