Halfway through a debut season which has proved every bit as challenging as expected, Renault has admitted that it cannot afford to stick to its original 5-year programme and has therefore decided to move it forward while increasing the amount of funding provided.

"We had put together a five-year plan, with an investment package, managing director Cyril Abiteboul told Autosport, "but a couple of weeks ago we had approval to increase that package and bring it forward.

"What we want is to make a difference as quickly as possible," he admitted, "and for that there is no better way than to accelerate what we need to do over the five-year plan."

Although the first half-season has been largely disappointing, which was to be expected considering the state Lotus was already in and the late decision to purchase the team (again), Abiteboul insists he is pleased with long-term progress.

"On the engine side we are completely to plan and the fact we have good reliability this season is fantastic as it allows us to really focus on performance for the future," he said. "The 2017 engine will very soon be on the dyno, and there is really good stuff coming. It's really ambitious, but I'm super happy with the structure we have and the ambition on the engine side.

"On the chassis, there is a big change in the aero regulations, but again we have set ourselves an aggressive target in terms of aero development. Each time we are putting the 2017 car into the windtunnel there are big steps, a big, big chunk of downforce, which will ultimately bring lap time, so it's good."

Referring to recent reports that Lotus lost £57m last year prior to Renault's acquisition, he said: "It was something that was very well known, Renault knew that was part of the equation. We were completely aware of what we were financially exposed to, so it was absolutely no surprise.

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1. Posted by Thomas, 06/08/2016 18:30

"RenaultF1 should introduce any new significant power increase in the ICE (Most significant) in this year’s races instead of waiting for next year which is far away. They supply four engines and can take risk with their factory team (a few engine failures). Once the failure stabilize, they can feed it to Red Bull team for outright victory. They have already some engine development in 2017 engine/dyno, just more testing and move it to this year’s engine! There is a good chance to grab 2016 “Constructor” championship and next year, hopefully both and reign supreme for the next 4 years! Red Bull should lock up positions 2 and 3 in most of the races! Ferrari looks weak and the Mercedes team have some technical troubles (not from the engine side) and competition/errors among its drivers! This is a great opportunity to grab the “Consructor” Trophy! Limited, intelligent gambling does not hurt! Pascal Renault would be happy! Good way to celebrate Renault's First GrandPrix Victory!"

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Renault steps up investment plan

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