Renault technical chief Bob Bell says the manufacturer is expecting five teams to be in the scrap for midfield honours when the new Formula 1 season begins in Australia next weekend.
Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have locked out the leading three positions across the past two years, and the trio frequently held a substantial performance advantage over the rest of the pack in 2017.
Force India has held fourth spot across the past two seasons but put in an indifferent pre-season performance, though has pinned its hopes on a substantial aero package planned for Australia to deliver the required gains.
McLaren, Toro Rosso and Haas all caught the eye during various stages of testing, and Bell believes that several teams will be involved in a squabble for midfield honour this year.
“We had a solid winter test campaign with reliability so that’s good cause for optimism,” said Bell of Renault’s prospects.
“In terms of performance, it’s difficult to say where we are. The top three teams are out in front again, but behind you have ourselves, Force India, Toro Rosso, Haas and McLaren in the mix.
“There’s not an awful lot to separate us, so it’s difficult to draw firm conclusions before the first Grand Prix.
“I think we’ve done a good job of developing the car and I think we’ll be in there with a chance of a haul of points.”
Pirelli will bring its Ultrasoft, Supersoft and Soft compounds to Albert Park, though Bell reckons the narrow delta between the tyres seen during testing could be misleading.
“I think from Barcelona we learnt there isn’t much to choose between the Soft, Supersoft and Ultrasoft which we will have in Melbourne,” he said.
“But that might be a quirk from Barcelona and the temperatures we saw there.
“It’s too early to judge the usefulness of the new tyre range. We will have to get a few races under our belt at normal temperature conditions to assess that.”
