|
 The French manufacturer and former world champions Red Bull have
been increasingly uneasy partners since the introduction last year
of the V6 turbo hybrid power units.
Mercedes, dominant last year, romped to another one-two in the
Australian opener on March 15 and Red Bull's patience is running
low.
The tensions had been ratcheted up already before Melbourne when Red
Bull designer Adrian Newey suggested there was "no obvious light at
the end of the tunnel and all sorts of failings" with the engine.
"It's one thing where you're not competitive but you can see your
way out of it," he told the Daily Mail, before a race that saw Red
Bull's Russian Daniil Kvyat fail to start when his gearbox failed on
the way to the grid.
"It's another when you're not competitive and your partner doesn't
seem to be willing to deal with you."
His team principal Christian Horner said in Australia that the
engine was "undriveable" and accused Renault of making "a retrograde
step".
"They're obviously in a bit of a mess at the moment," he added.
Abiteboul hit back this week, telling France's Auto Hebdo magazine
that Newey was charming and brilliant but had spent a lifetime
criticizing engine partners and was too old to change his ways.
In a Renault preview of Sunday's race at Sepang, Abiteboul
recognized Renault had fallen short but called for teamwork.
"We need to work together to understand our issues, both within the
Power Unit and the chassis," said the Frenchman, who will appear
with Horner in what should be a lively Friday news conference.
[to top of second column] |
"Our figures have shown that the lap time deficit between Red Bull
and Mercedes in Melbourne was equally split between driveability
issues, engine performance and chassis performance.
"It’s therefore the overall package that needs some help and we have
been working with the team to move forward."
Remi Taffin, Renault's director of operations, said Malaysia should
be more of a benchmark and offered a chance to "press the restart
button".
"Our design development group has been working non-stop to create
counter-measures to improve driveability and reliability and correct
the issues we saw in Melbourne," he added.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Justin Palmer)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
