Renault Aiming for Title in 2005

Renault launched their 2004 Formula One car on Thursday with the ambitious target of finishing every race on the podium and becoming a top three team.

With team boss Flavio Briatore talking of a realistic Championship challenge in 2005, Renault Sport chairman Patrick Faure said the time had come for the French manufacturer to shift up a gear.

"We must consolidate our occasional race-winning speed into a consistent, season-long challenge for victories," he said. "We have the drivers, the people and the resources in place to do so. After finishing fourth in last year's Championship, we must look to dislodge at least one of the teams above us. The podium must be our objective at every race."

The new R24, which had its first track outing in Barcelona last week, was shown off at Palermo's neo-classical Teatro Massimo opera house before being driven through the streets of the Sicilian city.

"I don't think we will be fighting for the title in 2004 but I definitely think that we can finish the season in the top three," Faure added.

First Win

Renault last year celebrated their first win since they returned to the sport in 2002 after a 17-year absence.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who remains at the team with Italian Jarno Trulli, became the youngest winner in Formula One history at the Hungarian Grand Prix where he also lapped Ferrari's World Champion Michael Schumacher.

But the team were still some way off breaking into the top three, ending the season with five podium finishes in 16 races and 88 points compared to McLaren's 142, Williams' 144 and Ferrari's 158.

Since then, Renault's highly rated technical director Mike Gascoyne has left to join big-budget rivals Toyota and been replaced by fellow-Briton Bob Bell. Briatore, who guided Benetton to title success with Schumacher in 1995, said the new car showed that Renault were a top team.

"We are taking big steps forward and hitting our targets," said the Italian. "When I arrived at the team, my aim was to be able to compete for the title in 2005. We will be ready. The most important thing for us is to have fewer technical problems than in 2003. The basis of the R24 is less risky and the organisation at Viry (the French engine factory) is better.

"The first three races might be difficult...but from the second half of the championship onwards, the engine will be much more powerful."