Red Bull complaints led to Renault resurgence

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Red Bull's complaints regarding Renault's power unit performance led to the improvements seen in 2016, according to Christian Horner.

Renault endured a dismal 2015, with Red Bull slipping to fourth in the constructors' championship amid performance and reliability issues. Red Bull tried to end its power unit deal early but was unable to secure a supply elsewhere and eventually remained with Renault, re-badging the engines as Tag Heuer.

Horner sees Red Bull's recovery to finish second in the constructors' standings this year, including two race victories, as a combination of his own team's work and the improvements from Renault.

"I think it’s testimony to the strength in depth that is within the team that we’ve managed to turn it around," Horner told F1i during an exclusive interview. "And of course on the engine side the guys [at Renault's power unit headquarters] in Viry have done a great job.”

While he is full of praise now, Horner was unhappy with Renault's lack of direction 12 months ago and he believes Red Bull's reaction was key to the turnaround.

“I think that out of a lot of difficult conversations that happened last year, the positive outcome of that and the necessary outcome was the restructuring and reorganisation within Viry which we’ve started to see the real benefits of this year. I think that perhaps wouldn’t have happened without those difficult days last year.”

INTERVIEW: Christian Horner on Red Bull rising

2016 driver ratings: 12-1

2016 driver ratings: 24-13

2016 team-by-team review: Part one

2016 team-by-team review: Part two

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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.