VALENCIENNES (France), Jan 14: Formula One champion Fernando Alonso’s decision to move to McLaren in 2007 could unsettle Renault’s title defence, Toyota technical director Mike Gascoyne said on Saturday.

“It can’t help but have some effect,” said Gascoyne, asked about his previous employers at a pre-season event at a Toyota car factory in northern France.

“But at the end of the day you have to be master of your own destiny, not looking at what everyone else is doing...if the others drop the ball, well and good, but ultimately you can’t rely on that.

“You’ve got to design a car that’s quicker than theirs.”

Renault won eight of the 19 races last year, with Spaniard Alonso victorious seven times to become the youngest champion at the age of 24.

McLaren then stunned the Formula One world by announcing last month that the driver, managed by Renault team boss Flavio Briatore, would join them next year.

“It’s not the best thing, having a driver who is already committed to another team,” said Gascoyne. “I know Fernando, he’s a very professional and very nice guy, but its not the same as having a driver whose committed to you for the next two or three years.”

Italian Jarno Trulli, who joined Toyota in 2004 after winning the Monaco Grand Prix for Renault that year and then falling out with Briatore, said the situation could play to rivals’ advantage.

“The situation at Renault is not nice because they have two drivers whose contracts will expire, one who is going and the other one I don’t know,” he added.

Despite that, he rejected the view that Alonso’s departure called into question Renault’s long-term commitment to staying in Formula One.—Reuters