Renault on the hunt for Williams in Singapore

Renault Sport F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul vows to hunt down and catch Williams in the Constructors' standings, starting in Singapore next week.

Like its rivals, the French team enters a busy period as it gears up for the first of three races in Asia.

But Abiteboul is confident the Marina Bay circuit, with its fast kinks and twisty infield section, will play into the strengths of its RS17 chassis. 

"We are now focusing on these busy Asia rounds," explains the Frenchman in the team's preview for next week's event.

"Williams sit just 21 points ahead of us in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship and, with seven races to go, it’s very much in our capability to chase that down by the end of the season.

"We need to create some momentum and string together some consistent results with both cars inside the top ten. Singapore will be vital to kick start this effort."

• Renault takes the bull by the horns to improve reliability

Renault tech boss Nick Chester details the set-up requirements for Marina Bay and a few updates which shall be introduced. 

"There are a number of things to look out for: tight corners, big kerbs and a lot of traction demands, meaning it can be a hard place to get the right set-up," says Chester.

"But if you have a reasonable amount of downforce you should have a quick and competitive car. We’d expect to be back to our Britain, Hungary and Spa level of performance.

"We’ve made softer rear springs to make the rear end more compliant which will aid traction.

"As ever, you have to get the compromise right as it’s a balance between a compliant chassis and not losing too much aero performance.

"We have some minor updates to the bodywork which we will evaluate during the practice sessions."

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