Renault: 'Complete redesign' not required

© XPB 

Renault's power unit does not require a complete redesign despite the problems faced during the Australian Grand Prix.

Christian Horner says the power unit is "quite undriveable" after Daniel Ricciardo was limited to sixth place in the opening race of the season, saying Renault was 100bhp down on Mercedes. Taffin admits the power unit's performance was not good enough in Melbourne but says the hardware has the potential to be much more competitive.

"From the start of the weekend we’ve faced a number of technical issues, both at Red Bull and Toro Rosso," Taffin said. "Reliability has been below par, with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen suffering ICE problems. The two are not related and we are already investigating a recovery programme to make sure we do not see a repeat.

"The biggest issue has been the drivability, which has made it hard for all the drivers to feel comfortable in the cars. It affects pedal application and confidence in the corners so has cost lap time and points this weekend.

"It’s related to the maps, or the way the Power Unit is configured, so while it’s definitely not an easy fix, it does not require a complete redesign. We have got a lot of work to do before Malaysia but equally a lot of motivation to not repeat the same issues we had this weekend."

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