Renault confident of passing Mercedes

"We started the year a reasonable amount behind Mercedes and we've gradually been hunting them down," said Allison in a team preview ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

"Robert [Kubica] was ahead of both Mercedes for the first time in Monaco, but it's not a typical track, so it was encouraging to see us breathing down their necks at Istanbul Park.

"It confirms the progress we've made to get on terms with them and if we can maintain our current development rate, I'm confident we can move ahead of them soon," he added.

Renault is currently 27 points behind Mercedes in the championship after the first seven races of the season.

Allison is also optimistic Renault will be able to keep its momentum going in Canada this weekend, where he reckons the team should take another step forward.

"I think we will be in reasonable shape," Allison said. "There are aspects of the track that will suit us very well. Most of the corners are low speed and you need to be able to hammer across the kerbs quite aggressively, which is something the R30 is good at.

"The circuit is also very demanding on the brakes, but we are confident that we will be able to attack the circuit even on the very heavy fuel loads that are run in 2010. We will have further updates to the car and I would hope that we can take another step forward in Canada."

Robert Kubica, who has scored his only F1 win in Montreal, is also confident the track will be good for his team.

"I think the car should work well in Montreal so I'm quite confident we can go there and get a strong result. I'll be aiming to score good points, as we have done all season, which is very important for our position in the championship.

"It would be great if we could repeat the performance we showed in Monaco and fight for the podium, but if it's not possible I will simply concentrate on getting the maximum from the car and bringing home as many points as I can."