MELBOURNE, Australia - Renault is still "about a month" behind its rival F1 engine suppliers.
That's the admission of the company's chief engineer Remi Taffin despite the fact premier partner team Red Bull took a big step forwards in the 2014 Melbourne Formula 1 GP after disastrous off-season test sessions.
'RELIABILITY PROBLEMS'
Asked if Renault had been surprised by the superiority of Mercedes and Ferrari with the very same revolutionary rules, he told the French-language news agency AFP:
"No, we are not surprised. This (Mercedes and Ferrari's level) is what we wanted, what we imagined we would achieve.
"We're not there yet because we've had reliability problems and that caused a bit of a delay. We're about a month behind."
Meanwhile Mercedes' F1 chairman Niki Lauda said no engine supplier was currently giving full power to its customers.
"Not even Mercedes," he told a German newspaper.
Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 F1 season – fresh reports every day.
That's the admission of the company's chief engineer Remi Taffin despite the fact premier partner team Red Bull took a big step forwards in the 2014 Melbourne Formula 1 GP after disastrous off-season test sessions.
'RELIABILITY PROBLEMS'
Asked if Renault had been surprised by the superiority of Mercedes and Ferrari with the very same revolutionary rules, he told the French-language news agency AFP:
"No, we are not surprised. This (Mercedes and Ferrari's level) is what we wanted, what we imagined we would achieve.
"We're not there yet because we've had reliability problems and that caused a bit of a delay. We're about a month behind."
Meanwhile Mercedes' F1 chairman Niki Lauda said no engine supplier was currently giving full power to its customers.
"Not even Mercedes," he told a German newspaper.
Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 F1 season – fresh reports every day.