Reliability still Renault's main priority

Although the World Champions only began track testing of their new V8 engine in January, the French car manufacturer are upbeat that the new power unit will not hit problems.

Renault's engine technical director Rob White said: "As always, we are aiming for zero defect reliability. We have been given a new challenge, and our job is to meet it as best we can.

"In general, the V8 will run at higher revs. This could pose problems for the reliability, but it has been taken into account since the engine's initial design. So, there are no specific problems for reliability: the RS26 has been designed to be used in a different way to the V10."

Engine project manager Leon Taillieu added: "Reliability is our foremost priority. It was a strength of ours in 2005, and must remain so in 2006. We have put all the necessary systems in place, to achieve our objectives in this area."

Renault's R26 has impressed in its early running, and Fernando Alonso's pace in the final 10 minutes of Valencia testing last week, when teams ran with new tyres and with low fuel, has suggested that the car is the benchmark at the moment.

The team's technical director Bob Bell has also warned their rivals that the R26 will likely be much quicker at the start of the season when a definitive aero package is fitted to the car before Bahrain.

"We will introduce development packages through the season," he said. "That will help maximise our production resources, and will allow us to have a firm idea of the step forward we make each time.

"We aim to have new parts on the car at every race. For example, the aero package on the car at the moment is quite different from what will be used at the first race. An update package just before Bahrain will bring us a good performance gain."