Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has suggested his team now has the better “package” over McLaren after recent results.
The French manufacturer has been largely outshone by their customer in 2019, with McLaren sitting fourth in the Constructors’ standings for much of the season
However, in the two races since the summer break, Renault has outscored the British team by 25 points, reducing the gap between them to just 18.
“It’s a weird situation, but it’s not for nothing that McLaren is at the top of the midfield,” Abiteboul told Motorsport-Total.
“They have a good chassis and a good engine, they certainly did well in terms of chassis, but we have the better package.
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“It’s just a fact that we have a better package. Sure it differs per track whose car is slightly better, but we have to make the step to get the most out of every weekend.
“Earlier this season it didn’t work out so well, but things went better in Spa and Monza.”
The Renault chief’s claim is slightly bemusing given the unique nature of the past two circuits and a big litmus test is coming this weekend in Singapore.
Also, poor reliability and a botched pit-stop was all that stopped McLaren from scoring big results themselves at those races too. As a result, team boss Andreas Seidl is calm about the recent swing.
“I think it’s so difficult to judge, to be honest, this year and it’s not just for us,” he said.
“I think for every team in the midfield, it’s so depending on track characteristics, tarmac, temperatures you’re seeing, the way you set-up the car and in which window you have to run the car for the different tracks.
“In Budapest, we expected to struggle more and we were the fourth-fastest car and I think with all the updates we have brought to the more normal downforce package before the break, and the updates we bring now to the next races we can hopefully keep up the fight for P4.
“Of course these two races have been a setback now after having a good run before the summer break, but it’s part of this sport, part of the development I would say also as a team, and it’s important now as I said before to do a reset again and keep going again from Singapore onwards.”