Alonso looking to hit ground running in Oz.

Fernando Alonso has targeted a winning start to his McLaren-Mercedes career as the Formula One season gets ready to kick off at Albert Park, Australia.

Although the reigning back-to-back world champion has shown little sign of needing a significant bedding in period with the team following his switch from Renault, there remains a number of question marks heading into the new season, with Australia set to provide the first clues to the answers.

Indeed, a late surge in testing from Ferrari has appeared to give the Maranello team the upper hand for the first round, but Alonso is nonetheless confident that he can begin the defence of his title as comprehensively as he did in 2006 with a repeat of his opening round victory from Bahrain.

"Having spent the winter getting to know my new team and new car, I feel really at home and am very motivated to start racing," he said. "I always enjoy Australia, there is a great atmosphere and I am excited to get out there and see where we are compared to the other teams.

The Spaniard however remains cautious about what the season will bring, his move to McLaren also coming at a time of new rules and regulations, not least the switch to Bridgestone tyres, which is expected to keep the season tight.

"There are a lot of new things in the sport this season such as new rules, all teams running on Bridgestone Potenzas, drivers changing teams. Everyone is starting from zero and it is going to make things very interesting. Am I going to go out at Albert Park and win my first race with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes? We are certainly going to push hard to try."