Renault still a month behind admits Taffin

Renault is still about a month behind schedule, relative to its rival Formula 1 engine suppliers admits Remi Taffin, despite the fact that premier partner team Red Bull has taken a big step forwards in Melbourne after a disastrous winter.

Asked if Renault have been surprised by the superiority of Mercedes and Ferrari with the very same revolutionary rules, he told the French-language news agency AFP: "No, we are not surprised.

"This [Mercedes and Ferrari's level] is what we wanted, and what we imagined we would achieve.

"We're not there yet, because we've had reliability problems and that caused a bit of a delay. We are about a month behind," said Taffin.

And Mercedes' Formula 1 Chairman Niki Lauda said that no engine supplier is currently giving full power to its customers.

"Not even Mercedes," he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper. (GMM)

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