Renault engine progress is 'very, very good'

Renault's has been working on some "very, very good stuff" regarding its new power unit, according to Cyril Abiteboul.

Following three wins with Red Bull in 2014, Renault suffered a disappointing season last year and failed to win a race amid uncertainty of its future in F1. Eventually the French manufacturer opted to return as a constructor, while its deal with Red Bull will continue but the power unit will be badged as a Tag Heuer.

Asked how development of the power unit has been progressing over the winter, Renault Sport Racing managing director Abiteboul replied: "It’s going well.

"We have some good stuff in the pipeline, which will take some time to get implemented and seen and visible on track, but we have very, very good stuff now."

And Abiteboul admits the update tested during the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2015 led Renault to focus on certain areas which required attention.

"We know where we need to work. It was already in the same area as the one that will be massively changed in the course of this year. It’s not exactly the same concept, but it’s the same sort of geography of the engine."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

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