Number one

Alonso said he was still a thousand times happier at Renault, even if a podium finish looked little more than a dream at present, than he was at the end of his troubled time at McLaren in a winning car.

That is unlikely to be the case for long.

A headline on the front page of Britain's Autosport magazine last week suggested that the Spaniard's new 22-year-old team mate Nelson Piquet junior could prove 'Alonso's worst nightmare'.

There is, however, no doubt that Alonso is number one at Renault and team boss Flavio Briatore will make sure everyone knows that.

The real nightmare will be if Renault fail to provide a competitive car.

Alonso wants to win and he will be looking for clear signs that his team are catching up with champions Ferrari and McLaren.

If that does not happen, it will be only a matter of time before speculation about an Alonso move to the Italian team or BMW begins to pick up speed again.

For the moment, after the turbulence of 2007, he is staying calm and looking at the bigger picture.

He has referred in passing to Michael Schumacher's move from Benetton, where the German won two titles, to Ferrari -- where he had to wait for five years before embarking on an astonishing sequence of five more titles in a row.

But Ferrari were a sleeping giant then, without a drivers' title for 21 years before Schumacher restored them to the pinnacle, whereas Renault are scrabbling to regain what they have only just lost.