Renault restructuring is paying off - Horner

Red Bull has praised engine partner Renault for its restructuring efforts which have enabled the Milton Keynes outfit to greatly enhance its performance level this season.

The current working collaboration between the two partners is a far cry from the contentious relationship which prevailed over most of last year, when dismal reliability and performance of the French manufacturers' power unit led to the relationship between the two companies nearly imploding.

With a substantial upgrade scheduled for the Canadian Grand Prix is introduced, Red Bull is hoping to ramp up its performance level by a further notch as the former world champions attempt t bridge the gap on the race track with leaders Mercedes and Ferrari.

"I think that on the power unit side, the guys in Viry have done a good job over the winter," Christian Horner told Motorsport.com.

"I think their restructuring has started to bear fruit in terms of direction and a clear strategy, so I am sure progress has been made there over the winter..

"But what we are really hopeful of is the next step, the B-spec engine. If it delivers what is being tabled, then that should put us in an even more competitive position."

Although Renault remains the team's de facto engine supplier, Red Bull has rebranded its engine TAG Heuer, a move Horner believes has helped the relationship with its partner.

"Obviously the engine decision was very late last year but I think things have settled. With the reorganisation and the re-commitment of Renault to Formula 1 in terms of the engine side, the relationship with the engine branded as a TAG Heuer is working well.

"It just allows the engineers to focus on the technical side rather than being bogged down by commercial arguments."

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