Hardware and software updates are coming to the Renault cars for the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix as the French team tries hard to close the gap with the top two engine makers, Ferrari and Mercedes.
Renault has been the number three among the engine makers for F1 and has been constantly battling reliability issues since the beginning of the season.
While the company has ruled out any major upgrades for the rest of the season, Renault’s Engine Chief Rémi Taffin said they have planned to introduce a few tweaks for the next two races and also suggested they have a few “more things in the pipeline”.
Taffin said, “Spa and Monza will see new software and hardware updates,”
“We are looking at Monza as a benchmark as it could provide a clear picture of the ranking of the engines.
“Being in the top 10 will be a good result as these next two circuits are power-hungry.
“After Monza, we have more races and more things in the pipeline, the next two months will be important for the 2017 season outcome.”
Taffin clarified that they will continue to “give close attention” to the engine reliability and is optimistic about the progress achieved so far.
“We know we’re not the fastest on the grid, but as a team, we are showing we are the force after the top three,” he commented.
“Qualifying pace has looked good, with Britain and Hungary exemplifying our ability to be the fourth best team.
“It’s just a case of building on that and bettering the race pace.
“That comes from levelling up everything, we need to show off reliability and mileage and that is something we are giving close attention.
“We are on a good trend and we will keep adding performance in terms of both aerodynamics and engine so hopefully this can be seen in the upcoming races.”
Renault is at the eighth spot in the constructors standing with 26 points and only 15 points away from Williams.
