Horner says Renault 100hp behind Mercedes
| 1. | L. Hamilton | 1:31:54.067 |
| 2. | N. Rosberg | +1.360 |
| 3. | S. Vettel | +34.523 |
15 March 2015 – Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner says Renault's power unit is 100 horsepower down on Mercedes after the squad endured a tricky start to the 2015 season in Australia.
Daniel Ricciardo finished a lap down in sixth position for Red Bull, while team-mate Daniil Kvyat did not start due to a gearbox issue.
Renault's problems also struck Toro Rosso, with Max Verstappen forced out of the race due to an engine problem.
"It's been a tough weekend and a very tough weekend for Renault," said Horner. "The engine is quite undriveable and you can see and hear that from the comments that the drivers are making.
"The clear evidence was at the start when Daniel got a pretty reasonable start before driveability came in and you can see the holes that are in the power delivery.
"We're probably 100bhp down on Mercedes at the moment."
Horner added that Renault could not afford to endure a problematic start to the season.
"After this weekend it's important that we regroup with Renault and try to offer support where we can because it's obviously in a bit of a mess at the moment," he explained.
"We need to understand things quickly. Across the four cars [Red Bull and Toro Rosso] we have had two engine failures, one within five laps, and a whole bunch of reliability problems. It's not the start Renault can afford to have."
