Wednesday 9 July at 12:13 : Fernando Alonso says he is now resigned to his sojourn away from the formula one podium in 2008.

The Spaniard admits that some Renault team members are desperate to see an Enstone built single-seater race back into the top three at a grand prix before this year's 18-race calendar is through.

But after finishing sixth in the rain soaked British grand prix last Sunday, former double world champion Alonso, 26, says returning to the podium this year is not his highest priority.

"For me, it does not have much value," he told the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

"What I want to achieve is fourth place in the constructors' championship by the end of the season," he added, referring to the fact that Renault current lies seventh, ignominiously ahead only of Honda, Toro Rosso and Force India.

In the F1 midfield this year, Alonso concedes that snatching an odd podium would probably only be through "luck" anyway.

"The podium for Red Bull in Canada can be attributed to luck," he said. "And (at Silverstone) Honda, after their bad results, they're not now driving rockets.

"We have to stay calm and continue to add points. There are years when you are lucky and others when you are not. I would rather be unlucky now, when we are not fighting for the title," Alonso said.

He also said he found satisfaction at Silverstone in being "one of the few" that did not commit notable driver errors.