Vasseur expecting further Renault progress into season close

Renault team boss Fred Vasseur is happy with the outfit's increase in performance of late, and believes the manufacturer's RS16's  progress will continue in the last two races of 2016.

Renault's return this season as a works team hasn't been clear sailing with the outfit having to rebuild its status in Grand Prix racing following its buy-out of Lotus at the end of last year.

Renault has scored in only three races year-to-date but the team's progress has been notable in the second half of the season, and Vasseur expects its advancement to continue.

"We are seeing for a while now that we have made a step up in terms of performance regardless of the circuit we are visiting, so that is encouraging," explained Vasseur.

" We are seeing that the gaps in the midfield are getting smaller all the time and it’s up to us now to put it all together in terms of set-up, tyre management, and extract everything possible from the potential of the car.

"I expect further progress on track as we continue to extract the maximum from the R.S.16. There are still areas that we can work on to improve the overall team performance whether it is pit stops, set-up work or tyre management. I know that the team is completely focussed on that and it’s good to see their motivation."

Next year's big regulation change implies that Renault's heavy workload will continue over the winter.

"2017 is a big challenge: we have a new technical challenge with the changed regulations and it will be the first car we produce under our new regime.

"There is a real excitement about the new car and the factory has some very busy months ahead producing it.

"There is a big unknown for next year as everyone is creating their new cars in isolation and we won’t know how we compare until we hit the track at the first test in Barcelona. That is part of the excitement in this industry.

"We can’t wait to be out on track for the first day of testing to get a feel of where we are at. But, until then, we have the two final races of 2016 and, rest assured, we’ll push all the way on track in Brazil and Abu Dhabi."

INTERVIEW: Fernando Alonso: Why F1 is no longer just for heroes

F1i Classic: Brazil 1991 - Senna's pain and glory

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS - Mexico

FEATURE: Foul Play or Foul Language

Scene at the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter