Renault hopes to benefit from test ban

The fact that teams cannot run new components until the beginning of January is offset by the chance to focus on Renault's radical V10 engine on the test bed, according to Gascoyne. The team and the engine made great strides in competitiveness in the second half of this season and he believes that momentum will not necessarily be lost just because testing is forbidden.

"We were short on engine supplies earlier in the year," Gascoyne told AUTOSPORT's sister publication Autocar. "Now Renault has a big chance to catch up. In the same way, the ban has enabled us to get to grips with additional aerodynamic testing for the chassis.

"Everybody at Renault is extremely confident for the start of the new season. I think it's accurate to judge our form by our performance at Suzuka where Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson [Button] qualified sixth and ninth."

The testing ban means that Renault's new driver Jarno Trulli will not make his debut for the team until January.

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