With Formula 1 teams having to redesign new aero components for 2019 in order to comply with the new rules that are supposed to make overtaking easier, some think that such changes might actually end up negatively impacting top teams more than the rest of the grid.

At least that’s how Renault executive director Marcin Budkowski sees it. Talking to Autosport, he said: “I am not going to tell you exactly where we are, but the loss [in downforce] was significant at the beginning, yes.”

“It is difficult to say whether it was more significant for us or others, but my personal opinion of this is that the bigger teams, the best teams, will lose more performance. That is because by definition they had a quicker car, so they had a more optimized car. Everything was more in tune and optimized. So they will have made a bigger step back.”

That’s certainly one way to look at it, and Budkowski added that the gap between the top- and mid-tier outfits will be smaller.

“My feeling is that probably you will have closed the gap a little bit between the top teams and the midfield, because the regulations are more restrictive than they were before. There is less available performance.”

If the top three teams do take even the smallest of steps back, someone like Renault could immediately pounce and assert itself as a potential podium finisher and, perhaps, race winner. Last year, Renault ended the season as “best of the rest”, 29 points clear of 4th place Haas, but behind third place Red Bull by a whooping 297 points.

Bridging such a gap during the winter would be nearly impossible, added Budkowski, stating that all his team can do is focus on building the best possible car for 2019 and hope that others won’t do as good a job. Which is what all teams wish and hope for.