With the likes of Toyota, Red Bull and Honda struggling to match the pace of their rivals at Ferrari and McLaren, it appears as if reigning world champions at Renault are also lagging behind, and by as much as half a second a lap!

Speaking to the Australian press, regular driver Giancarlo Fisichella revealed that the French based squad are nowhere near up to the speed they have been in recent seasons, mainly because, unlike their rivals at McLaren, they are having difficulty adapting to the new Bridgestone control tyre.

"We are struggling a little bit at the moment. We need to find a little bit of pace. Ferrari and McLaren are a step forward at the moment. McLaren and Ferrari are stronger than us. It's at least half a second a lap. It's a lot,” he told the Herald Sun. “We are not as quick as two years ago, when I won, and last year, so we are struggling a little bit at the moment. We have some new bits coming for the first race in Australia.”

“The main thing now is to find a little bit more speed. The aim is to win, but it depends on the competitiveness of the car. If we are able to have the speed of the last couple of years it is possible, but if not then it is not. Reliability is quite good, but we need a bit more pace. Maybe the tyres are one of the reasons. But a team like McLaren has not got that problem, so if they can make them work..."