Renault are confident they will eventually close the gap to Mercedes without the need for equalisation measures or a change in the regulations.
The French supplier to Red Bull and Toro Rosso has struggled to match the power output Mercedes has achieved, with most estimates putting their unit about 50 horsepower down.
That prompted Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to call on the FIA to step in and equalise things, either by relaxing development rules or by slowing Mercedes.
But Renault Sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul says such measures aren’t required as it’s only a matter of time before they’re evenly matched in the performance department.
“I would never say that we need to change the regulations in order to be assisted to catch up,” he told ESPN.
“I think we believe there is absolutely no reason why we could not catch up. I guess the question is just when and the amount of time needed to catch up.
“At some point at time the law of diminishing returns will kick in and it will kick in for Mercedes first and then Ferrari. This law will help us in catching them, although I’m not saying we are waiting for them to be limited.
“Clearly we are behind and need to develop faster and that will be supported by this law. That will happen, we have to be a bit patient but also we have to build a plan so that this delay and period that is difficult for the Red Bull-Renault group is as short as possible.”
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