Webber hammers Renault: 'Performance doesn't back up the chat'

©Renault

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Former F1 driver Mark Webber says Renault is already under "tremendous pressure" after the team's lackluster start to its 2019 campaign.

The French outfit's drivers spent most of their weekend in Baku lingering in the second half of the field, unable to lift their performance and running at a fair distance from their Renault-powered McLaren rivals.

The relative comparison between the two teams doesn't bode well for Renault says Webber.

"As predicted, they’re a long way off, they’ve got a big job to do," Webber told Australia's Wide World of Sports.

"They’re a team under tremendous pressure already, because their performance doesn’t back up the chat.

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"Renault were saying in the off-season they can challenge the top three, but they’re a long way from that.

"It’s been challenging, they’ve got some reliability issues as well, McLaren are belting them with the same engine, which is not good. McLaren are a long way down the road at the moment."

Webber's crude assessment of Renault led him to be concerned for fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo, and to question once again the Honey Badger's decision to join the yellow squad.

"Daniel’s season hasn’t really started, has it?" said the former nine-time Grand Prix winner.

"It’s been very challenging for Renault, and it’s starting to sink in now, in terms of the amount of work in front of them.

©Renault

"Daniel hasn’t forgotten how to drive, but the form guide changes very quickly in this sport. A driver’s momentum and his career can be challenged.

"He’s valued, but clearly he’s not in a good position at the moment. That’s obvious. You need results, you need to be drinking the champagne on the podium.

"That’s what concerned me with this move, so let’s hope the team can lift for him and start getting results.

"Every few months, if the performances aren’t there, other managers and agents and young drivers are trying to muscle in, the sport moves on so fast," added Webber.

"Daniel benefited from it in the past, he was one of the guys that had it on the way up. Now Renault have to deliver for him."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.