ALONSO WITH REAL GROUNDS FOR OPTIMISM

Not too often over the past two years has Fernando Alonso had much cause to smile.

Clinching the second of his back-to-back Formula One world titles with Renault towards the end of 2006 must now appear like a distant memory to the Spaniard.

The following year brought a much-heralded move to McLaren, but it was filled with bitterness, acrimony and rancour, culminating in an unsurprising exit and a hasty retreat back to Renault.

There is a saying that you should never go back, and certainly for arguably the first eight months of last year, that was the case for Alonso as he struggled to wring a performance out of the car.

But the 27-year-old, despite the obvious problems he encountered at McLaren, is a fighter, and in tandem with a considerable amount of hard work from the team, he again savoured the sweet taste of victory champagne.

Successive wins in Singapore and Japan enabled Alonso to finish the season as the highest points scorer over the final six grands prix, outshining title protagonists Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.

Alonso was again a happy man and he signed a new two-year contract with Renault, ending the speculation linking him with the now-defunct Honda team.

The return to form naturally rekindled his enthusiasm, which was apparent at the unveiling of this season's car in the Algarve in January when he was like a child with a new toy.

The sweeping regulation changes have offered Alonso hope he can again fight for a third world title.

''I am confident I can fight for the title this year,'' remarked a determined Alonso.

''There is only one target this season - we need the championship, and if we don't win it, it will be a disappointing season.

''But (team principal) Flavio (Briatore) and I, the whole team is really optimistic, with everybody focused on this.

''The results we have from the wind tunnel, engine dyno, everything is more optimistic than we expected, better than we predicted.

''It means everybody is quite motivated, but you need a few factors to be champion at the end of a year.

''Hopefully, I think for the first race we will be able to fight for the podium at least.''

It was a grim-looking Alonso that stood on a stage at the team's Paris base last January after unveiling the 2008 car, and it was clearly with good reason.

Alonso must have known then the year ahead would be a struggle, yet he was hardly at liberty at that time to bemoan the car's bad points that became apparent as the first few races unfolded.

So his grounds for optimism on this occasion, even if all drivers talk a good game in the run-up to a new campaign, must have firm foundations.

''I'm much more happy this year, much more optimistic, because I think the rule changes are a big opportunity for all the teams,'' said Alonso.

''Last year even with standard electronics, no traction control and other things, we knew the cars that fought for the title in 2007 would be good enough to fight for the championship in 2008.

''They had an advantage that they carried over the years, but this year it is not like that any more.

''Everybody has had to start from zero, so we know if we do a good job then we can be up with them.

''That is what we hope for, and that is our aim.''

Alonso knows it would certainly ease the pressure on himself and the team who, like the other manufacturers, are fighting for the results to guarantee their survival in F1 in light of the global economic crisis.

Alonso feels a successful season would also bring an end to the constant speculation about him joining Ferrari.

Despite the new contract, it has already led to some circulating the rumour he will move to the Maranello marque in 2011.

With that smile that is now back on his face these days, he added: ''I have been answering this question for four or five years.

''Hopefully this year I can be more relaxed about it, and if we are winning races and fighting for the title, we'll forget Ferrari.

''That is another of my aims, because I'm really concentrated on 2009, and as I've said, I'm more motivated and prepared than ever.

''So when you talk about 2010, 2011 or 2012, it really is a difficult question to answer because I'm not looking that far away.''