Renault expects ‘tough’ Montreal outing

Renault Sport F1 director of operations Rémi Taffin expects this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix to be “tough performance-wise” for the French engine manufacturer.

After a troublesome start its 2015 campaign, Renault bounced back during the previous round held at Monaco, with Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo finishing P4 and P5 respectively.

Having suffered several ICE failures across the first four fly-away races, the Red Bull pairing has been on their fourth engine since last month’s Spanish Grand Prix and experienced no further trouble in terms of reliability.

However, with Montreal being a typical power-hungry circuit, Renault braces for a more challenging outing at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

“We are realistic ahead of this race,” said Taffin. “We’ve put in a great deal of work on reliability and have improved our record in the last two races, but we know that Montreal will be tough for us performance-wise.

“Knowing that power is critical, we have to try to repeat our Monaco approach, which was to optimise each sector individually. Unlike Monaco, however, we also need to assess the right drag/downforce compromise to allow good performance in qualifying and the race.”

The trip to Canada also bears a special significance to Renault, as it marks the first anniversary of its Energy F1’s maiden win, with Daniel Ricciardo taking advantage of Mercedes’ brake and ERS woes to claim his first ever victory.

Click here for a look back at Robert Kubica's only Formula One victory in Canada 

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