It has been another difficult year for the double world champion who has so far amassed just 11 points from eight races in his Renault, one more than he managed at the same stage last season.

Alonso's struggles were typified at last month's British Grand Prix when he found himself fighting with Lewis Hamilton at one stage over 16th place before going on to finish 14th.

That is not what Alonso was anticipating, and ahead of Sunday's German Grand Prix, he has his fingers crossed the team can rediscover the formula for success as they did last year.

On that occasion the 27-year-old scored 43 points in the final six races, with wins in Singapore and Japan along the way.

"We thought Silverstone would suit the car, but after qualifying we realised we were not as competitive as we had hoped," reflected Alonso.

"In the race I made a poor start and got stuck behind (BMW Sauber's Nick) Heidfeld who was heavy on fuel, and which ended my chance of finishing in the points.

"I still had some fun battles, especially with Lewis, but I prefer to be fighting at the front.

"The position we are in at the moment is similar to last year, but this time all the teams are much closer together and so it's more difficult to take a big step forward.

"If you can find three or four tenths (of a second) with an upgrade, it can make a huge difference and put you five or six places higher up the grid.

"That's what the team is looking for - that magic component which gives us a big boost, but we know it's not easy to find."

Like many other teams who have still been working flat out despite the recent mini-break, Renault do have upgrades on the car for use this weekend.

"Hopefully they will improve our situation and allow us to get some points in the race, but we know all the other teams will have improved as well," added Alonso.

"We also need to work on our starts because if you lose ground on the first lap it's very difficult to recover."