Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul is seeking a “full recovery in competitiveness” from this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
After plenty of raised expectations pre-season, the results have been poor in the first four races with one top 10 each for Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg so far.
The main problem has been finishing with five retirements, three of which were mechanically induced, and all this has left Renault down in seventh in the Constructors’ Championship.
“The start of the European segment of the 2019 Formula 1 season is an opportunity for us to reset,” Abiteboul declared in his preview.
“Overall, it’s been a tough start to the year and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix capped off a run of results that fell short of our expectations.
“We know we are capable of much more and we need to target clean weekends and races to make the most of our potential.
“To do so, we have work to do on all sides of our operation; chassis and engine both on and off track, and work with the drivers to allow them to reach their respective capacities.
“We are motivated as ever to strive for more and we aim for a full recovery in competitiveness in Spain.”
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For Ricciardo, however, there is already a minor setback as he will take a three-place grid penalty for reversing into Daniil Kvyat in Baku.
“I feel bad for the team about what happened in Baku, especially as we were starting to hit a nice rhythm in the race,” the Australian commented.
“We’ll take the positives from it, move on and go again in Barcelona.
“Unfortunately, the three-place grid penalty isn’t ideal, but it’s one I’ll accept for my error and I’ll deal with it as best as I can in Spain.
“Maybe it’s time to crack out some of the overtaking moves!”