26/01/2015
NEWS STORY
It's fair to say that following last year's pre-season test at Jerez, some would have raised an eyebrow had Renault said it was aiming to complete 5 laps in Melbourne, such was the dismal performance from almost all its teams at the Spanish track.
However, little by little things improved and by season end the French manufacturer's power unit was widely seen as the second most successful out there, indeed, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was the only other driver, other than Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, to stand atop the podium.
Buoyed not only by the way it turned things around last season but also its success in terms of the change of heart covering engine development in 2015, Renault F1 managing director, Cyril Abiteboul says the French manufacturer is targeting at least five wins this season.
"We estimate that our gap to Mercedes at the end of the 2014 season was about 60bhp," he told France's Canal+. "We hope to close this gap by half at Melbourne.
"Unlike Mercedes, we will start the 2015 season with the 2015 version of our engine," he continued. "To date, we have used about two-thirds of allowed tokens to change our engine this year. My goal is to claim at least five wins this season."
The French manufacturer, which had threatened to walk away from F1, had the new formula not been introduced, is also willing to listen to Bernie Ecclestone's calls for a more powerful unit, providing such a move does not drive costs higher.
"Renault will not object to the idea of Bernie Ecclestone, to make engines more powerful, and to make more sound," said Abiteboul, "as long as costs remain under control.
"The idea is attractive," he admitted, "but it seems that it is already too late for 2016. However, 2017 is ideal timing."
The news however, comes too late for Lotus - which in another guise was owned by the French manufacturer - but which will now use Mercedes power units this season.
Chris Balfe