Renault F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul believes his team can target double points at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, despite a flurry of recent mechanical issues.
The twists and turns of the Hungaroring are expected to better suit the French manufacturer with their power deficit not as detrimental as most recent circuits as well as recent chassis upgrades at the British Grand Prix.
Those updates allowed Nico Hulkenberg to finish comfortably as the highest midfield car in sixth, boosting Renault in their efforts to move up the Constructors’ Championship from their current eighth place.
“We have shown at Silverstone that we are continuing to improve,” Abiteboul claimed.
“Chassis developments, in particular the new floor, proved to be positive exemplified from Nico’s eight points and both cars showing strong qualifying pace.”
The issue the Enstone-based outfit has had in achieving results with both cars as teammate Jolyon Palmer is yet to score a point in 2017 and failed to even make the start at the previous race due to a hydraulics problem on the formation lap.
“It’s critical to back up this improvement with both cars finishing in the top 10 in Hungary. We want to finish the first half of the season on a positive note,” the Frenchman continued
“To achieve this, we need to put behind our reliability problems. We know our situation and the areas which require more attention.
“Our targets remain unchanged, we want to be sixth by the end of play on 30th July and fifth by the end of the season.”
To achieve the first of those targets Renault will need to score eight more points than their customer team Toro Rosso, who will also expect a stronger weekend in Budapest, and four more than Haas who continue to ebb and flow in terms of performance after a strong result in Austria before falling back at Silverstone.
Abiteboul is putting the pressure on his team and particularly Palmer, who almost scored his first F1 points in Hungary last year before spinning off late on, stating: “A double-points finish is well within our reach.”
What will also add pressure to the Briton is the announcement that Robert Kubica will be testing the 2017 car at the post-Grand Prix test. Though the team insist the former GP2 champion is going to remain for the rest of the season, with a direct comparison possible between the two drivers after the Pole’s appearance on Tuesday, Palmer will be desperate to prove he is worthy of a seat in 2018.
