Verstappen: If we had Mercedes power they would never see us

Verstappen, flinging a not so subtle message at Renault, said in an interview, "I think that if we had a Mercedes engine in the back, they would never see us again."

Renault got off to a woeful start with their V6 turbo hybrid power units when the rules came into force back in 2014, while Mercedes go the jump on everyone with their effort.

Since then Renault have been playing catch-up in terms of horsepower to Mercedes and also Ferrari, while reliability was far worse than their chief rivals. The Renault power units proving to be fragile particularly in the latter half of the season.

Verstappen recalled, "Ours just isn't that stable compared to what Mercedes and Ferrari have. But it has to do with several things. Otherwise, they would have solved it a long time ago, of course."

This year Renault are confident they will make significant progress as they welcome McLaren into the fold.

A scenario that also sets the stage for comparison between the cars produced by the Woking outfit and the crew at Milton Keynes, spawning an intriguing contest of engineering excellence between the Red Bull RB14 and McLaren's MCL33 for the season ahead.

On the engine front, Mercedes are expected to set the benchmark once again in 2018, as has become the custom in recent years.