Renault encouraged by Australia F1 reliability

Renault Formula 1 chief Cyril Abiteboul took heart from the French manufacturer's issue-free start to the 2018 season in Australia last weekend after recurring reliability issues blighted the backend of last year.

All six Renault-powered cars came home in the points in Australia, led by Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo in fourth place, with no reliability issues arising on its power units throughout the weekend.

After struggling through the final few races of the 2017 campaign with an array of issues, Abiteboul was pleased to not only see the Renault factory team make such a strong start to the year by scoring a double-points finish, but also felt encouraged by the reliability shown by customer teams Red Bull and McLaren.

"We did not have any reliability issues in Renault Sport Formula One Team, nor our two partner teams. The performance of the team was more or less where we expected and hoped for the first race," Abiteboul said.

"Ultimately the result was good; the first time that we have had both cars in the top ten since our return, and the first time in the history of Renault that six Renault-powered cars have finished in the points. This is a result we can be pleased with.

"As a first result of the year it is encouraging, but we have to be conscious of circumstances as the gaps between the top ten, and even beyond, are tiny. It did however confirm that we are going in the right direction and we need to build on this going forward.

"Bahrain is the second race of the year and we need another trouble-free weekend, especially as we enter a double-header far away from our European base."