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Renault is aiming to be in a position to match and fight the class-leading Formula 1 engine by 2018, according to engine chief Remi Taffin.

The French manufacturer made gains during 2016, leading to Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo suggesting his Renault engine was now on par with Ferrari.

Taffin admits it will be difficult to close the gap to leading engine Mercedes next year, but it wants to be in a position to do so the following year.

"I don't think we will close the gap this winter, though I I don't know, but the target is to be very close by the end of next year because the target was to be in a position in '18 to fight somehow with these guys," Taffin told Autosport.

"We know more or less where they are and we can see we can get there.

"It's fair to say that '18 should be the year where we should level everything."

As performance continues to converge amid stable engine regulations, Taffin believes the gains manufacturers can make over the winter are diminishing.

"It's now a matter of time [until performance converges] because next year is going to be the year in which we see the, not the last step of progress, but the last step that we can actually really see," he said.

"We're not going to bring half a second every single winter and through a season.

"At some point, performance will be converging because of the nature of the regulations.

"2017 is key to making sure that the next step that we make into next year is the right one, which we are 99% sure of.

"But we need to make the most out of it.

"We're already seeing that we will have a good step into next season to start with.

"We're not going to overwork our first race specification and we will have a plan to do things in a sensible manner."