Double world champion Fernando Alonso is heading into the Formula One season in an optimistic mood, with the Spaniard hoping the new 2022 rules can deliver enough of a shake up to put his Alpine team in the fight at the front.

The 40-year-old returned to the sport last year, signing for the same Enstone-based outfit with whom he won his two titles in 2005 and 2006 when they ran as Renault.

But his sights had always been set on the 2022 rules overhaul, billed as the most sweeping in decades. “I came back to the sport ... because of this regulation,” said Alonso, at the launch of Alpine’s 2022 challenger in Paris, when asked if the new rules could be a game-changer. “So it has been one year and a half waiting for these cars.”

Formula One’s new rules, featuring a complete redesign of the cars, are aimed at delivering better racing. Together with a more restrictive cost cap, they could put more teams in the mix at the front, if not completely reset the competitive order.

Renault-owned Alpine, however, are tempering hope with realism. The team returned to the top step of the podium for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix in 2013, then racing as Lotus, when Alonso’s team mate Esteban Ocon took his maiden win in Hungary.

At Monday’s launch, Alpine chief executive Laurent Rossi said progress and momentum would be key. The team had to aim for at least fifth in the standings again, he added.