Fernando Alonso has asked
Renault to provide him with a more reliable engine – stressing that ‘it is almost always the same thing that breaks' – as Spanish oil company Repsol has flattened suggestions it is keen to facilitate a move to
Honda for the double
Formula 1 World Champion next year.
Alonso has endured a frustrating 2008 campaign to-date in the top flight, being forced to grapple with the
Régie's uncompetitive and unreliable R28 – consequently seeing him notch up just ten points, when this time over the past three seasons he had respectively 59, 74 and 50 on the board. The 26-year-old suffered engine failures both in testing at
Silverstone just over a week ago and again in Friday's morning free practice session, and he has insisted it is time for change.
“We are investigating what is going wrong,” he told
El Pais. “It is almost always the same thing that breaks. There is no reason to panic, but reliability is an important thing.”
The man from Oviedo was somewhat happier, however, with lining up sixth on the starting grid for today's British Grand Prix – a race he won for Renault only two years ago – just one position but almost half a second ahead of improving rookie team-mate
Nelsinho Piquet.
“It was a difficult qualifying session with changeable track conditions, wind and rain,” Alonso reflected, “but we did our maximum and overall it's a satisfying result for the team. If the race takes place in normal conditions, we can hope to have a strong finish.
“If it rains, the race will be open and anything can happen. I must now prepare for that and will give my all once again to achieve a good result.”
“I'm very happy with the qualifying session,” added Piquet, after securing only the third top ten grid slot of his fledgling career in the uppermost echelon, and on the back of a confidence-boosting maiden points finish at Magny-Cours last time out. “The car felt good and we were improving lap-by-lap.
