Despite losing his double World Champion, and having switch to a new tyre supplier, Renault boss Flavio Briatore is remains unfazed, and clearly believes that it is his rivals who will struggle to find form this season.

Still smarting from the secret deal agreed between Ron Dennis and Fernando Alonso at the end of 2005, Briatore is convinced that even the Spaniard's undisputed ability will not be enough to lift the Woking team, which in 2006, for the first time since 1996, failed to win a single Grand Prix.

"It will be a tough year for them," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I see them having problems.

"They've always had fantastic drivers like Raikkonen," he added. "They always announce them early to demonstrate they're changing, but this year the book of excuses has come to its last page."

The Italian is equally dismissive of the threat from Ferrari: "Ferrari without Schumacher and Brawn will be less competitive," he said. "That's normal when you lose people like those."