Renault engine changes occurred before Bahrain

Renault has played down reports the French marque has been permitted to make new changes to its Formula One engine.

It was reported recently that Renault, supported stridently and openly by its F1 customer Red Bull, had lobbied the FIA to be allowed to catch up with Mercedes' arguably best engine on the grid.

Red Bull's Christian Horner said last month: "It would be a disaster to lose another engine manufacturer at the end of the year because they cannot compete with the others."

But amid suggestions that none of the permitted changes involved improving either performance or fuel efficiency, a Renault source clarified on Monday that the news is not even new.

Rather, the source said the FIA's approved changes have not "just been green-lighted" but were rather all implemented in the winter pre-season.

Moreover, the changes were all in accordance with the rules allowing modifications on grounds of cost reduction and reliability, and the source said "every engine manufacturer" is in dialogue with the FIA on the same basis.