Abiteboul: Renault upgrades will enhance performance at Singapore

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul believes the French team will be in for a strong weekend at Singapore. Renault struggled at the two races which commenced at the end of the summer break, Belgium and Italy.

With Spa-Francorchamps and Monza being two power-dependant circuits, Renault struggled to keep up with the likes of Force India and Haas, who are powered by Mercedes and Ferrari respectively. The team managed to pick up just 4 points from the last two races.

But Abiteboul is confident that the street circuit of Singapore will provide the Enstone outfit with a boosted chance of scoring over their rivals. The Frenchman added that a number of upgrades will be brought to enhance the car's performance at Singapore and going forward.

"We are looking forward to Singapore, a track we believe should suit our package," he said. "You can never tell what the competition is going to do, but we know we have another few updates coming that should further enhance our performance for this race and also going forward.

"It’s also one that the drivers particularly enjoy and performances are generally good there, so we have confidence in their ability to get the job done," Abiteboul added.

Renault is currently tangled in a tense battle with Haas for fourth place in the constructor's standings. It currently holds a 10 point lead over the American squad, but while it continues to develop its 2018 car to stay ahead, Abiteboul stated that it can't lose focus on building its 2019 challenger.

"As important as this year and our championship position is, we can’t take our eyes off development of next year’s car," admitted Abiteboul. "We are developing the R.S.19 in parallel to racing in 2018 and will have to carefully manage resources to ensure no drop off in either area. This will be kept in sharp focus at the coming races as we reach the end of the season, but we are well structured and resourced to do so."