McLaren driver Fernando Alonso and Racing Director Eric Boullier are undeterred by the spate of Renault engine problems that have impacted the French manufacturer and their customer teams in the final races of the season.
A number of failures have impacted the six Renault-powered cars with four failing to the finish in Mexico alone. So bad has been the reliability that they had to be turned down in Brazil and there is a concern any more failures could end a season early for whoever it impacts with a lack of spare parts available.
Watching all this has been McLaren, who are ditching Honda at the end of the year due to their lack of performance and reliability this season to join up with Renault in the hope of returning to the front of the grid.
Asked whether the problems have led to any concerns for 2018, Fernando Alonso replied: “No, not really. Renault is definitely one of the best engines out there and in the last 10 or 12 years, it has been the most successful engine company in F1.
“So I have zero doubts [about 2018].”
Boullier agreed, pointing to how most failures have come at Toro Rosso who, after two more last Friday in Brazil, got into a verbal spat with Renault over the quality of their engines, but did acknowledge their performance was still far from perfect.
“It’s mainly affecting one team, there are no worries [about 2018],” he reassured. “They [Renault] are not on top of their game in the same way Mercedes is, but I think they have sorted out most of the issues.
“There’s a big step to make, but they know that.”
