What's the story?
In what has been a gripping Formula One campaign so far, the pace of the Mercedes' and Ferraris has become a major talking point, with the others left far behind in that regard.
Red Bull, powered with their Renault engines have been there and thereabouts but really haven't threatened the top four drivers in the standings, raising concerns in the team about performance. Carlos Sainz, however, believes that the Renault engine could be good enough to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari next season.
In case you didn't know...
The Spaniard has made the switch from Renault to McLaren for the 2019 season after it was revealed that Fernando Alonso was retiring from the sport. Sainz will continue to drive a Renault-engine car just as he is currently, but with the hope that the performance will be much better next time around.
The heart of the matter
Renault's customer Red Bull used the 'Spec-C' engine in the latest outing at Monza, with Max Verstappen narrowly missing out on a podium finish and teammate Daniel Ricciardo posting a decent time during practice.
While Renault haven't been as adventurous this time around, Sainz hopes that with McLaren, his fortune might change for the better. “I have faith that Renault is going to finally make an engine at the level of Mercedes and Ferrari, he said.
“Together with that partnership with McLaren I hope to have a better year than this one.”
Currently locked in a constructors' battle with the likes of Haas and Force India, Renault will be hopeful that they can get their groove on towards the business end of this F1 calendar.
What's next?
Singapore has proven a successful hunting ground for Renault in the past, but don't expect Sainz to be the fastest man out on the track, though a superior practice session would boost hopes of a strong finish on Sunday.
Will the new Renault engine bear fruit this weekend? Let us know in the comments.