Reality check for Renault in Melbourne

[davewilson]

Melbourne, Australia - Renault says it has a challenging season ahead to retain its World Constructors' team title after Ferrari's dominant opening to the 2007 Formula 1 season.

Kimi Raikkonen dominated the Australian GP to beat McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton and give Ferrari the first win of the 17-race series.

Alonso left Renault for McLaren at the end of 2006 and the Anglo-French team got a reality check on March 18 with Giancarlo Fisichella's fifth its best placing

Fisichella admitted: "The race proved more difficult than we expected We knew we weren't on the pace of the leaders, but we had hoped to make up some ground; now we realise there is a lot of work to do."

Team principal Flavio Briatore wasn't happy with the results of the opening weekend's efforts.

"This afternoon showed us that we have a lot of work to do to be competitive again," he said. "It wasn't a strong race for the team in any department. We were expecting more at every level and we need to work hard to find the performance."

Chief Pat Symonds said there was much to do ahead of the next GP in Malaysia on April 8.

"We now have a much clearer idea of the car's performance and three days of testing ahead of us in Malaysia before the next GP."

Renault beat Ferrari by five points for the 2006 Constructors' title, led by now-departed champion driver Alonso.
The Stig