Mar.26 (GMM) Renault boss Flavio Briatore has disagreed with team driver Fernando Alonso's claim this week that the R28 car is likely to remain out of podium contention for the rest of the season.

Rather, the Italian insists that only May's Turkish grand prix, or the subsequent Monaco race, will give the experts enough information to allow a judgement on the French team's performance this year.

"Wait three or four races and then ask me again, as I will have a pretty good idea of what our status is," he told F1's official website.

Renault's engine chief Denis Chevrier, on the other hand, points to the Spanish grand prix next month as a crucial moment for the 2008 campaign.

The team is planning some substantial improvements for Barcelona, but Chevrier told the Spanish newspaper El Pais: "We will need to improve a lot more than the other teams.

"If our developments are not much better than theirs, we will obviously stay in the same situation," he added.

But, according to the magazine FHM, former world champion Emerson Fittipaldi is confident that, "with Fernando, Renault will improve rapidly".