Renault hopeful of step forward in Sepang

The French outfit struggled for pace at the season-opening race in Australia, but have been working hard to ensure there is no repeat of that in Sepang.

The team will introduce some new components tested at the Asian circuit last week, mainly a new front wing package they hope will help close the gap to Ferrari and McLaren.

"Within the team, we are hoping to show that we have taken a step forward relative to Melbourne," said technical director Bob Bell in a team preview.

"At this stage, it is unrealistic to talk about catching Ferrari or McLaren - but we need to show that progress has been made, and that we are starting to close down the gap."

Bell said Renault have also focused on solving all the reliability problems that hindered the team in Melbourne.

"Action has been taken to ensure they are not repeated," Bell said. "Especially in our current situation, where we are not on the pace, we cannot afford to sacrifice reliability as well.

"The car needs to be absolutely bullet-proof, and we hope to see that in Malaysia."

Although Renault do not expect to fight for victory at Sepang, Bell admits the team will be pushing their development programme even harder this season in order to catch their rivals.

"Given our current situation, we will be pushing even harder to introduce new parts as quickly as possible," he added. "In past seasons, we had to balance our aggression with a degree of caution to avoid compromising our lead in the championship.

"This year, we have got nothing to lose - and that will allow us to be even more aggressive."

In Sepang, the FIA will use a new testing procedure on the cars' floors to make sure all teams are running legally, and Bell reckons it could make life hard for the Formula One field.

"It is quite possible that the hierarchy of relative performance will actually be dominated by how well teams have responded to the FIA's clarification of the bodywork regulations last week," added Bell.

"The new testing methods for the floor will, I am sure, have caused some difficulty for all the teams - and how well they respond to that change may well have a larger effect than any other performance developments."