Fernando Alonso has made it clear that Renault have set their sights on winning the Championship this year.
Renault star wants to challenge for Formula One title again
Although Renault have had a very quiet build-up to the 2009 F1 season, Fernando Alonso has made it clear that they have set their sights on winning the Championship.
The French-based outfit finished the 2008 season on a high after the Spaniard picked up back-to-back wins in Singapore and Japan and many expected them to carry that form over to new season, but the R29 hasn't really set the world alight during pre-season testing.
Alonso, though, is nevertheless upbeat that they will be challenging for the World Championship.
"We finished in a strong position last year and this year our goal is to fight for the Championship," he said.
"But we have lots of new regulations this year and nobody really knows what will happen when we get to Melbourne.
Testing
"From what we have seen in testing it seems all the teams are very close and so we will certainly have a fight on our hands."
The 2009 season kicks off in Melbourne this weekend and Renault and Alonso have a good track record there. The Spaniard won the race in 2006, finished third in 2005 and came fourth last season.
"In the past Albert Park has been a good track for Renault and so I hope we can have a strong weekend," he added.
"I think the order of the teams will probably be different from the last few years as we have got used to Ferrari and McLaren dominating, but with the new rules I think there will be lots of cars fighting for the win.
"Hopefully we will be in that fight."
