Even though Formula 1 pre-season testing isn’t entirely indicative of a team’s overall pace, it can gives us a first look on the new cars’ performance.

In an interview with Autosport, Renault technical chief Remi Taffin said: “We have set some high targets for this year, which we have hit,” while also acknowledging the fact that they won’t know where they stand until they get to Melbourne for qualifying.

Perhaps the most promising data with regards to Renault’s new power units this year has come courtesy of the McLaren customer team , who dominated multiple test sessions so far in Barcelona, although they have since been trounced by Ferrari, as have pretty much all other teams in terms of pace.

Either way, it’s looking good for the French outfit, with team boss Cyril Abiteboul also praising their development before the start of the year, describing Renault’s gains in performance as “the biggest” it has made since the V6 engines were introduced in 2014.

Taffin went on to mirror that sentiment, while chassis technical director Nick Chester even provided an explanation for why his team proved slow in the speed traps during the first week of testing: they didn’t use DRS too much.

“This week we’ve been climbing up the speed traps, I think the speeds today were a bit more sensible. So, I’m not too worried. We know where we’re running on rear wing, and we know what we’re doing with our program,” added Chester.

The 2019 Formula 1 championship kicks off in two weeks in Melbourne, Australia, and Renault’s drivers this season are Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg.

renault hits f1 engine test targets 6 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 5 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 4 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 3 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 2 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 1 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 6 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 5 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 4 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 3 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 2 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets
renault hits f1 engine test targets 1 Renault Says It Has Already Hit Its 2019 F1 Engine Targets