Fernando Alonso believes the Renault team can produce a repeat performance of last season and take him to a podium or a race win by the end of the year.
The double world champion has had a tough start to the season and currently lies down in 11th in the championship standings with a total of 13 points.
But, after the Enstone-based team introduced an upgrade package at the Nurburgring, Alonso has shown more pace, appearing near the top of the timesheets in practice for the German and Hungarian grands prix and clinching pole position in Budapest.
'I think we started the season with higher hopes,' said Alonso. 'Unfortunately we didn't reach out targets and we've changed our mind, arriving at the races with a different motivation and with different targets.
'At the beginning of the season we aimed to be fighting for the world championship, but now it's just to get a victory or a podium.
'It's still very interesting at every grand prix because you want to reach that target.'
He continued: 'There are many factors that can change a race or over a weekend, so we're still fighting and trying to maximise the potential of the car.
'Sometimes it's a little bit better and other times it's not so good, but we always fight and when you do your maximum, you always enjoy yourself.'
And the Spaniard is still confident the team can score a podium or a win this season.
'I think last year we proved anything is possible in formula one and Renault has proved that they're capable of developing a quick car and are able to find the right direction,' said Alonso.
'I don't see any reason why we can't be optimistic for the rest of the championship and hopefully a podium or a win is still possible.'
Renault have yet to confirm who will replace Nelson Piquet and drive alongside Alonso at the European grand prix in Valencia, but the team's test driver and current GP2 series leader Romain Grosjean remains the favourite.
The double world champion has had a tough start to the season and currently lies down in 11th in the championship standings with a total of 13 points.
But, after the Enstone-based team introduced an upgrade package at the Nurburgring, Alonso has shown more pace, appearing near the top of the timesheets in practice for the German and Hungarian grands prix and clinching pole position in Budapest.
'I think we started the season with higher hopes,' said Alonso. 'Unfortunately we didn't reach out targets and we've changed our mind, arriving at the races with a different motivation and with different targets.
'At the beginning of the season we aimed to be fighting for the world championship, but now it's just to get a victory or a podium.
'It's still very interesting at every grand prix because you want to reach that target.'
He continued: 'There are many factors that can change a race or over a weekend, so we're still fighting and trying to maximise the potential of the car.
'Sometimes it's a little bit better and other times it's not so good, but we always fight and when you do your maximum, you always enjoy yourself.'
And the Spaniard is still confident the team can score a podium or a win this season.
'I think last year we proved anything is possible in formula one and Renault has proved that they're capable of developing a quick car and are able to find the right direction,' said Alonso.
'I don't see any reason why we can't be optimistic for the rest of the championship and hopefully a podium or a win is still possible.'
Renault have yet to confirm who will replace Nelson Piquet and drive alongside Alonso at the European grand prix in Valencia, but the team's test driver and current GP2 series leader Romain Grosjean remains the favourite.
No comments:
Post a Comment