Renault eager to improve qualifying pace

With the midfield battle now in full swing, Renault know that it is down to them to find a way to improve their qualifying speed in order to maintain their fourth place position.

Renault now only have an eight-point advantage over their nearest competitor Haas in the standings, and the American team are showing excellent signs with their car becoming quicker with every race.

The French team's boss Cyril Abiteboul has underlined the importance of qualifying and has admitted that his side have to improve their pace on single-laps.

"Fourth position is going to be close as we reach the final straight of the season, but we're feeling quite positive ahead of the next race in the United States," Abiteboul explained. 

"Our race pace is clearly competitive in relation to the midfield teams, but we absolutely need to improve single-lap, qualifying pace. There is very little difference between P7 and P16 right now and we need to ensure we are in the best possible position on the grid on race day. This is where points are won and lost."

Performance gains tend to be rare at this stage of the season, with most teams switching their attention to next season.

"We are reaching the end of our development cycle this season since we are increasingly focused on 2019 projects, but our immediate priority remains meeting our objectives set at the start of 2018," the Frenchman added.