Renault won't be bringing a major upgrade to its power unit until next year according to managing director Cyril Abiteboul, contrasting claims made by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
Renault this year debuted a new concept it said would provide major development opportunities, but Abiteboul has said that will be delivered in minor improvements on a race-by-race basis and there would be no 'big' upgrade until 2018.
That goes against what Horner recently said, with the Renault customer team boss suggesting a big perfomance boost originally expected for the Canadian Grand Prix would now come in Azerbaijan.
That won't be happening, Abiteboul confirmed to the official Formula 1 website: "It was Red Bull who said that there would be an upgrade [in Baku], he said.
"There are upgrades permanently – every single race we are making some small improvements.
“Last year we created a huge expectation and we came with an upgrade that had a big impact. But we can’t repeat that every year.
“Now it is all about constant improvements which overall will make a difference – but there is no magic bullet. Every race the engine will become more and more reliable with the program on the dyno progressing.
"Frankly the next big upgrade will be next year. Then we will have a completely new concept. That will make a difference – but as I said 2018."
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