By Matt Majendie BBC Sport Online

Jarno Trulli will have just one aim when he lines up for the Australian Grand Prix in six weeks time - to avoid a repeat of the season-opening debacle of 2002.

Twelve months ago the Italian was running second in Melbourne when he spun into a wall seemingly without reason in one of the more embarrassing retirements of the season.

The Renault debutant immediately blamed his car's electronics, while team boss Flavio Briatore was quick to pass back responsibility to the driver.

It later transpired that an oil spillage was responsible - and the bad luck proved something of a precedent for the remainder of the first half of Trulli's season.

This season I have no excuses at all Jarno Trulli

One of the very best in the business at qualifying, he continually failed to follow up that promise in racing conditions.

But a year on, Trulli is adamant he will not make the same mistakes.

"The Melbourne thing was embarrassing for me," he said. "I thought it was a car problem, the team thought it was my problem.

"I later found out the answer to the problem from a spectator who had spotted an oil spillage slowly seeping on to the race line. I guess it was that that I hit."

Post-Melbourne, the former Jordan driver struggled to get to grips with the R22 in his first season with the French manufacturer.

"But it was not surprising," he added. "At the team launch that year I said I expected to be like that and told people to give me two or three months.

Trulli is renowned as one of the quickest qualifiers in F1

"I didn't know the car that well back then. Once I knew the car, I went much better in the races.

"I was having problems all the time and didn't know whether it was me or the car. But I got stronger and this season I have no excuses at all."

Renault felt that way about Trulli's race pace by mid-season in 2002 and Briatore and technical director Mike Gascoyne had a quiet word with him about improving it.

Trulli said: "OK I spoke to Flavio about it, but I didn't need anyone pushing me. No-one is more critical of me than me."

Certainly something seemed to work - by the last quarter of the season he was regularly outpacing team-mate Jenson Button in races and putting in some very strong performances.

That has boosted his hopes for 2003, for which Renault boss Patrick Faure has already targeted an improvement on the team's fourth place finish last year.

For his part, Trulli would first of all prefer to see better reliability - something which afflicted him badly last year.

I expect to get a hard time from Alonso Jarno Trulli

But he added: "That said, it would be nice to win the championship with Renault."

His immediate pressure will come from new team-mate Fernando Alonso, who has already been singled out as a future world champion by his former Minardi team boss Paul Stoddart.

Trulli is under no illusions about the challenge ahead of him.

"I expect to get a hard time from him," Trulli said. "I got a hard time from Jenson Button and this will be no different."

In fact, the upbeat Italian's only complaint ahead of the season start is traction and launch control - he is delighted by the decision to ban it by the British Grand Prix in July.

Renault have arguably the best launch control on the grid, but Trulli is keen to prove his own driving abilities without the help of electronics.

He said: "Cars are far too easy to drive now. I say give the car back to the driver."