Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has acknowledged the strength of McLaren’s chassis but feels Renault’s power unit has also had a role McLaren’s resurrection.
McLaren currently occupy the best of the rest spot in the Constructors’ Championship, but their engine supplier Renault have narrowed the gap to 18 points following a strong points haul at the Italian Grand Prix.
McLaren’s chassis has received plenty of praise over the course of the season for its role in the team’s upward trajectory, but Abiteboul also wants to draw attention to the progress Renault have made with their engine, too.
“It’s a bit of an awkward situation, but clearly McLaren’s resurrection is also due to a combination of a resurgence on the power unit side and on the chassis side,” Abiteboul told Autosport.
“I think they have a better chassis in certain conditions, we have a better car overall and a better chassis in the other conditions.
“That’s a fact, so I think it’s going to be about track characteristics and who is capable of seizing the opportunity offered by the track.”
Abiteboul feels recent results have made finishing P4 a more achievable target and said the level of the pressure he and the team are facing has remained at the same level throughout the season.
“It was the target to finish fourth, and it remains the target. It was looking like a difficult target, now it’s looking like an achievable target, and that’s what we are focusing on.
“The pressure is not changing, and indeed when you are not in line with your target, you feel pressure, but I’m sure it’s the same for everyone on the grid, otherwise you don’t race in F1.
“It’s good to have targets that are challenging to achieve, because that keeps us on our toes.
“Targets need to be realistic, and they are realistic for this year, being P4 was and is a realistic target. We need to keep on working and keep on delivering against it.”
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