Renault disappointed with 2018 returns

Renault have been disappointed by their early-season performances in 2018, having failed to close the gap to Formula 1's front-runners. Renault have scored points at every race so far this year, but Nico Hulkenberg's pair of sixth-place finishes represent their best return so far.

Improvements in the French power unit were expected to launch Red Bull into title contention and move the works team closer to the fight at the front, with McLaren also coming on board with similar intentions.

Although Red Bull won in China thanks to Daniel Ricciardo, that victory is their sole podium finish in 2018, while McLaren are yet to make it into Q3 at any race.

Hulkenberg's consistency has been laudable, but his 21-second deficit to Ricciardo in Shanghai was as close as Renault have come to a race winner in 2018.

"I would say we're disappointed that we're not further up," Renault chief technical officer Bob Bell said. "We hoped to take a bit of lap time out of the top three teams this winter.

"We haven't, if anything they've moved slightly further ahead. We just didn't do a good enough job, we weren't as smart as they were over the winter in designing and developing the car.

"I think there's a reasonable chance we can close it [the gap], because there is a law of diminishing returns and they are going up that.

"We have an easier path to finding benefits than they do."

Renault and McLaren could be pitched in direct competition for fourth place in the constructors' standings - the Woking team currently have a three-point advantage.

"We were obviously very worried about [McLaren] when they came on board with the engine," said Bell. "They are very good at developing in-season to recover any losses from the start.

"It's going to be really, really closely fought. We had hoped to be a little further ahead at the start, but this isn't an exact science."