Renault must undertake a “reset” prior to the start of Formula 1’s European season, in the wake of a disappointing opening quartet of races in 2019.
Renault entered the campaign with the target of pulling away from the midfield group of cars and in turn closing the deficit to Formula 1’s leading three teams.
But it holds only seventh position in the Constructors’ Championship amid a lack of performance and reliability.
In Azerbaijan, Daniel Ricciardo retired after making contact with Daniil Kvyat while Nico Hulkenberg struggled for pace through the weekend and finished as the last non-Williams runner, almost half a minute behind nearest rival Kevin Magnussen.
“Very clearly, Azerbaijan was a bad weekend,” said team boss Cyril Abiteboul.
“From FP1 onwards we never found our pace despite big changes to the car overnight.
“We finally managed to recover an acceptable competitiveness level during the race for Daniel but it would never be the case for Nico.
“Overall, the first stint of the season has been disappointing, but if we manage to get all things in order we can have a decent competitiveness level as demonstrated on several occasions.
“We must absolutely see the start of the European season as an opportunity to reset.”
For Hulkenberg, it was his lowliest race result since Malaysia 2017.
“I had no response or anything to offer,” he said. “I was pushing really hard, I felt like I was driving as best as I could but couldn’t extract the maximum from the car.
“We have a lot to investigate going forward, but maybe it’s one of those mysterious weekends, which happen.
“It’s been difficult from lap one on Friday and we’ve consistently struggled. It’s a bitter one for me and the team.”
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