Renault: No 'W wing'.

Renault has played down speculation that it is secretly developing a radical aerodynamic solution that could provide a gain of around half a second a lap for its R28 chassis.

Responding to reports - apparently generated from a source close to title sponsor ING who claimed to have seen pictures of the device - a spokesman for the Enstone team told Spain's Marca newspaper that the so-called 'W wing' solution was not in development - and would certainly have to be track tested prior to the opening round had it existed, contradicting suggestions that it was being kept from prying eyes until the Melbourne race weekend next month.

Fernando Alonso, who returns to Renault this season after a frustrating year with McLaren, has also claimed that there will be no trick parts for the car, although he did reveal that the team was planning a new front-end treatment that could improve the R28's lap times. The double world champion has lagged behind expected pacesetters Ferrari and McLaren in early tests, and this week claimed that he was not expecting to even challenge for podium finishes.

"I believe that the team has some ideas and some areas of the car clearly need to be improved - traction, aerodynamics...," Alonso revealed, "These are the weak points right now but, logically, during the year, there are going to be evolutions. We must just do it more than the others, that is the secret.

"I don't know the plan exactly, but improvements to the aerodynamics are always the most effective, where the car improves the most. Next week, we should have some pieces, mostly in the nose, but some which will be visibly almost imperceptible, which we expect to bring an improvement of a tenth or two. Little bit by little bit we'll see if we can close the gap."

Rivals, however, reckon that Renault is playing down its level of competitiveness, with Ferrari test driver Marc Gene openly suggesting that the regie was 'sandbagging' over its true performance potential.

The Marca report went on to suggest that the original story was prompted by faked images posted on the internet, with the widespread subsequent reporting turning fiction into fact, but points out that the 'W wing' concept is nothing new, citing comparisons to the anhedral rear wing idea tried unsuccessfully by Williams in the early part of the ill-fated 1994 season.