Renault sure to overtake Mercedes

"I think we can because at the moment they're only just ahead of us on qualifying pace, whereas we seemed to have the edge on race pace in Malaysia," said Allison on Monday.

"We will have more updates in China, including a new floor and an alternative front wing.

"Although this might not be enough to get ahead of Mercedes in qualifying trim, it should move us closer to their tail. And if we can jump ahead of them at the start of a race, I'm confident we have the pace to stay ahead."

Renault is 14 points behind current champion Mercedes in the constructors' championship after the first three races of the season.

Allison is confident that Renault's aggressive approach to development this year will pay dividends.

"We have made no secret of our intention to develop our car aggressively during 2010," he said. "Aggressive development means having effective ideas and getting them to the track as fast as possible.

"Our current rate of aerodynamic development is at an all-time high; it's at least double that of last year. The factory is also pulling out all the stops to get our ideas to the car in around half the time compared with last year."

And he reckons the team has achieved the maximum possible in the first trio of races, with Robert Kubica having finished second in Australia and fourth in Malaysia.

"I think we've achieved as much as we could have realistically hoped for because our results have exceeded the current level of competitiveness of the car," Allison added.

"We've made the most of the opportunities that have been presented to us and we have scored some strong results, which is a great way to start the season."