Renault can still win this year, says Briatore

London: Former champions Renault can still win Grands Prix this year despite a difficult start to the Formula One season, team boss Flavio Briatore said on Tuesday.

"I think so, yes, in Barcelona we have the new package and absolutely yes (we can win)," he said.

Briatore was speaking after announcing a new 20 million pounds ($39.85 million) five-year sponsorship deal with Italian clothing company Lotto for his English Championship (second division) soccer club Queens Park Rangers.

The Spanish Grand Prix, a home race for Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso, is the fourth round of the season on April 27.

Renault, champions in 2005 and 2006 with Alonso, have not won a race since October 2006 and chalked up just one podium finish last year after the Spaniard had left to drive for McLaren.

Alonso has now returned to the French team, where he is partnered with Brazilian rookie Nelson Piquet, but struggled to eighth place in Malaysia last weekend after finishing fourth in the Australian season-opener.

His view of the future seemingly differed from Briatore's, with the Spaniard telling the As sports daily on Monday he was not expecting any big step forward.

"In Barcelona we will have some improvements for the car, the same ones all the teams will have, so the championship is going to stay more or less the same," he said.

"We saw it last year and we see it every year. The cars that win the first two or three races stay on top. We are not going to see big surprises during the year."

Briatore would not be drawn on whether he thought QPR would be in the Premier League before Renault were champions again.

"It's difficult to say because nobody expected Renault to win the championships in 2005 and 2006. I don't know, let's see," he said.

The Italian also brushed aside talk about Alonso's future, with media speculation in Spain still linking the Spaniard to a move to Ferrari as a replacement for Brazilian Felipe Massa.

Massa has failed to score a point in two races this year but has a contract with the Italian team to the end of 2010.

"This story you remember was already last year...and in the end he (Alonso) signed with Renault," said Briatore.

The team boss is a co-owner of QPR with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and Indian steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.

"Bernie is an incredible asset for QPR and we have fun as well," Briatore said of their partnership.

"In life you need to have fun, but you have fun only if you are successful. I think there is a lot of synergy because we want to be competitive and be the best and this is the same in football as well as Formula One."