Renault: We can do a better job on the engine

Renault has continued to hit back in the wake of criticism from Red Bull claiming that its current Formula 1 turbo V6 power unit is the only reason for the former world champion team's 2015 struggles.

The French marque's F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul on Tuesday blasted Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, accusing the Briton of lying about the RB11's only weakness being its engine.

However, Abiteboul does not deny Renault's own problems and old Autosprint, "Having a winning engine on its own merits is not something that will happen this year."

"We can do a better job on the engine," Abiteboul admitted, "but it is not something that happens in one winter."

But after making the lying accusations to Auto Hebdo, Abiteboul ensured Renault's message is loud and clear this week in the form of an official statement.

In the wake of scathing criticism from Newey, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, he urged the two sides to "work together" to solve the issues "both within the power unit and the chassis".

Previewing the weekend in Malaysia, Abiteboul said, "Australia certainly wasn’t an easy weekend and we fell short of our own expectations, and those of our clients. We need to work together to understand our issues, both within the Power Unit and the chassis."

"Our figures have shown that the laptime deficit between Red Bull and Mercedes in Melbourne was equally split between drive-ability issues, engine performance and chassis performance. It’s therefore the overall package that needs some help and we have been working with the team to move forward."

"We’ve been particularly aggressive in development and we should see the results a lot more clearly in Malaysia, particularly since we have had the opportunity to refine the PU using the data from Australia."

"Work is still ongoing but even now we are in a completely different place to where we finished Melbourne," predicted Abiteboul.

John Watson, a former F1 driver and long-time commentator and pundit, said the French camp is right to hit back so stridently against Red Bull's sniping.

"Renault are spending a fortune supporting the technology and the hardware to enable Red Bull to continue the success they have enjoyed," he told the Guardian.

"If I was Renault I would feel pissed off that Christian [Horner] has bit off the hand that's feeding him. The relationship seems to be disintegrating very rapidly.

"The public sniping is inappropriate and counterproductive," added Watson.