Formula One: Alonso Expects Mclaren to Complete Hat-trick

Fernando Alonso has every faith in his new team, McLaren-Mercedes, to land him a third straight world championship. Indeed he said anything less would be unacceptable as this year's cars were unveiled and he and his new team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, demonstrated the 2006 cars through the streets of Valencia as a curtain-raiser to the season starting in March.

Last year's cars were hardly celebrated. McLaren failed to win a race for the first time since 1996, prompting an inevitable barrage of scepticism from rivals, the underlying theme of which suggested that the team was now defined by style rather than substance.

But Alonso, who became the youngest ever world champion driving for Renault, has no doubts that McLaren's new MP4-22 will emerge as the strongest championship contender. When asked who he felt was the championship favourite he said: "McLaren. Us. I don't know how the Ferrari is, how the Renault is but I have full confidence in ourselves.

"All the information I have about the wind tunnel and the engine is so promising and so optimistic. If that info on paper is real on the track, we will have a very good car. I think we will be strong." He said he felt rejuvenated by a move first announced more than a year ago. "I feel more ambitious, a completely new man."

Alonso's confident predictions come a few days after his former team principal, Flavio Briatore, predicted problems ahead. "It will be a tough year for McLaren," Briatore said. "I see them having difficulties. They've always had fantastic drivers like [Kimi] Raikkonen. They always announce them early to demonstrate they're changing but this year the book of excuses has come to its last page."

McLaren's top brass is taking little notice, regarding Briatore's waspish observations as the inevitable by-product of Renault's disappointment over losing out on Alonso's services when McLaren made him an offer - $25m (£13m) a year - he could not refuse.

Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren chief executive, shares Alonso's view on the forthcoming season and said the team had the best driver line-up in formula one with Hamilton, the British rising star, as the Spaniard's team-mate. "McLaren has the expectation of winning each and every year," said Whitmarsh. "Inevitably people can look at our performance last season and be able to criticise us and, frankly, we didn't do a good enough job. My feeling, having been at this point of the season on many occasions before, is highly optimistic for 2007.

"Alongside Fernando we have the excitement of the debut year for Lewis. We have worked with Lewis for a decade, so he is well known to the team. His level of preparation and commitment is unprecedented."