Renault’s Fernando Alonso is convinced the French marque can overhaul Japanese rivals Toyota in this year’s Constructors’ Championship battle for fourth place.

The 2008 season has just six races remaining, and Renault are only ten points behind Toyota in the race for fourth place, which may not seem like a lot if the teams were fighting for double-figure points-hauls.

However, this year such hauls have assumed extra significance because they have occured so rarely, due to the dominance of the top-three teams; Ferrari; McLaren-Mercedes; and BMW-Sauber, meaning midfielder teams have to fight out for seventh and eighth place - a combined total of three points. Toyota only managed it once with a ten-point haul coming at the Hungarian GP, while the most Renault have bagged in one race is eight points.

Pat Symonds, Chief of Engineering at Renault, added:

“It’s a tough battle and we know it’s going to be hard work.

“With six races to go they’ve got ten points advantage on us, which is a reasonable lead, especially when you consider that we are fighting for the smaller points paying positions.

“We never underestimate anyone and we need to fight hard with them, but I do believe that we have what it takes, as a team, to beat them.

“We know there’s a lot to do and, of course, a freak result can make a big difference, but if all things are equal and we battle until the end of the season, I think it’s an achievable target.”

This view is supported by leading driver Fernando Alonso, who is firmly of the belief that Renault are capable of overhauling Toyota - even though the Japanese squad outscored them again in Alonso’s home Grand Prix in Valencia.

Alonso said:

“Even though the European Grand Prix turned out to be a race to forget, we should not lower our aims.

“I am sure that the team is giving 100% to achieve our objective and I will also give my maximum to try and get a strong result and score some points.

“At the beginning of the season things were not easy, but we have improved and we are determined to continue in this direction.”

With the Valencia race put firmly behind him, Alonso is now focusing his attention on the upcoming Belgian GP, which he rates as one of the best on the calendar.

“Spa is one of those exceptional circuits on the Formula One calendar. Like all the older circuits, there is always a very special and warm atmosphere.

“For the drivers, Spa is an unbelievable challenge and is a very enjoyable place to drive a Formula One car. I have never won at Spa and hope that one day I can add a win here to my list of achievements.

“It’s a very long circuit, which generally emphasises the gaps between the cars. It requires a very complete car and so we will have to work hard on the set-up to make sure we are competitive in the quick sections as well as in the slower corners. The compression in Eau Rouge is still an impressive part of the circuit.”

Neal’s View: The midfield is closely packed. Renault have more form at the front than Toyota have, but with such a large gap in performance between the top-three teams and the rest, points are few and far between, and this battle could go right down to the wire.