Benetton pledges to battle back at Sepang

The Enstone-based outfit has been hard at work developing updates for its B201 chassis, while Renault concentrates on developing its recalcitrant wide-angled V10. Drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button were classified a lowly 13th and 14th in Melbourne, and the latter didn't even make it to the chequered flag due to exhaust problems.

"Both Renault Sport UK and France are pushing hard on development for Malaysia and Brazil so that we can start the process of moving up the grid," said technical director Mike Gascoyne. "We have a new bodywork package in development that we hope will be ready for Malaysia, if not, it will be tested on chassis number four in Barcelona and will be used in Brazil."

"For Malaysia, we have incorporated some specific modifications to cope with what we expect to be very high temperatures. Our focus is on race reliability and our aim is to get two cars to the finish and in a competitive state," added Gascoyne.

Director of engineering Pat Symonds believes that the reduction in lap times won't be as apparent at Sepang as it was at Albert Park, despite the fact the circuit is suited to softer tyres.

"The tyre war between Michelin and Bridgestone decreased lap times in Melbourne by an amount far greater than anticipated," said Symonds. "However, it is likely that this improvement will not be so extreme in Malaysia, as in 2000 the race was at the end of the season when significant development progress had already been made on tyres.

"Lap times will also be more affected by the reduction in aerodynamic downforce from the 2001 regulation changes. The result is that the absolute performance of the car is unlikely to take such a large step forward as we saw in Australia."