No podiums for Renault?

"We are very far, very far," Renault driver Fernando Alonso was quoted as saying by AS newspaper. "I think it's looking like at the end of last year: two Ferraris, two McLarens and two BMWs, and if everything goes like that, you can almost only fight for seventh place."

According to Fred, things are looking grim for the parrot-liveried team, andt he expects them to continue on with the form showed throughout 2007: "Thinking about the podium would be too optimistic right now," He went on to speculate the qualifying performance of Le Parrot Deux: "In our current shape it will be hard to make it into Q3,"

Meanwhile, team principal Flavor Flav has dismissed speculation that the Renault are lagging behind in vehicle development, saying "There's no reason to worry, all we need is some -0.6s magic fairy dust from our always reliable 'magic fairy'."

Is there equality in the Renault camp?

On the subject of equal driver status, Nelsinho had this to say about his new role as a race driver in the Renault F1 team: "In Formula One there is no number one and number two. Both the cars are equal and here it will be the same way,"

However he seems to have forgotten what team principal Flavor Flav said last year when trying to lure back double world champion Alonso: "It's important that the roles, number one and two, are clear, otherwise you risk to destabilise the team. If you hire a World Champion, then you must give him the number one status."

Lets see how things play out in the upcoming season...