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Renault yet to show hand - Boullier

Renault did go for quick times during pre-season testing © Sutton Images

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Renault's team principal Eric Boullier has revealed that his team did not shown its true potential during pre-season testing.

Renault often ended up in the bottom half of the timesheets during testing in Spain and rarely showed signs of troubling the top four teams Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes. But Boullier said the team had chosen to keep its cards close to its chest and thinks it could be a surprise package this season.

"We took a decision to run with heavy fuel at every test because we believed this was the best way to understand and improve the car," he said. "In terms of outright performance, I hope we are close to the top four teams. There is a big upgrade package for Bahrain, the main part of which is aerodynamic."

When asked what can be expected from the team at the season opener, Boullier added: "It's not easy for me to say. I certainly have a dream result in mind, but I need to balance my expectations with reality. If we can have both cars qualify in the top ten and finish the race that would be a great way to start the season."

Robert Kubica is also confident there is more to come from the R30, but is expecting his rivals to have made gains too.

"It's difficult to judge performance, but we're heading in the right direction," he said. "We also haven't run with all our new updates yet and there is another aero upgrade for Bahrain, which we hope will match the wind tunnel predictions and improve performance. Overall, it seems that all the top teams are quite close, but some have definitely hidden their full potential during testing and will also have more updates for Bahrain. So far, I think Ferrari and Mercedes look very strong."

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

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