Renault will have ‘no excuse’ if they are not in midfield

Renault’s managing director Cyril Abiteboul says the team has no excuse if they are not running in the midfield during the 2017 season.

Because of a late takeover of the former Lotus team, the R.S16 car was heavily compromised car after a lack of funding and facilities at the Enstone factory.

Since the acquisition, Renault has pushed to increase its staffing levels and create plans to redevelop its headquarters in Enstone and Viry-Châtillon.

The French manufacturer finished ninth in the constructors’ championship last time out and are keen to quickly move up the field with a new set of regulations to work with.

Abiteboul told Autosport: “Now that there’s a reset of regulations, in my opinion it’s even better because we have no excuse not to be at the same level as the midfield at the start of the season.

“But against the top teams it’s still going to take some time. We need to invest in the infrastructure, because if I’m honest, the top teams continue to drift away.

“They are developing quicker than we are developing. That’s why we need to grow the infrastructure.”

After not being to perform as well in the power unit department against the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, Renault feel that they have since made progress thanks to workforce back in Viry-Châtillon.

Chief technical officer Bob Bell said: “They are much more disciplined and rigorous about explicitly saying what the modifications that they make and bring to the track are capable of delivering.

“Sometimes when you bring in engine development, it might make the engine quicker on a dyno but when you install it on the car you see some losses on a chassis rate.

“Overall on the engine side, we’ve known exactly what we’re getting and it’s done what it’s said on the tin.”