By alley - Dec 27, 2016, 11:17 AM ET

F1: Renault - We won’t leapfrog midfield in '17

Renault is not expecting to jump to the front of the midfield in 2017 despite the investment in new facilities and personnel, according to team principal Frederic Vasseur.

After a long period of deliberation at the end of 2015, Renault eventually returned as a full F1 constructor a year ago as it completed a takeover of the struggling Lotus team. While the purchase meant a return to Enstone – where Renault's last works team was based – the French manufacturer was forced to embark on a rebuilding effort over the past 12 months. The focus has been on expansion, with three extensions to the factory currently underway and the workforce having increased by over 20 percent since the takeover. The latest announcements

saw Ciaron Pilbeam return as chief race engineer from McLaren

, while Rob White will make an internal move back to Enstone as operations director.

"2017 is a fantastic opportunity for us to take a significant step forward for many reasons," Vasseur said. "The change of regulations could mean quite a shakeup in the order of relative competitiveness, plus the fruits of our expansion will be ramping up. We made an early start to developing next year's car with this in mind.

"Whilst 2017 should see a good step forward, we are realistic in our expectations as we know that we won't leapfrog the midfield in a single season. However we are all pushing for a big improvement in competitiveness."

Focusing specifically on the overall changes within Formula 1, Vasseur says Renault hopes to be a key player in the midfield battle from the start of the season and is confident the new regulations will provide spectacular entertainment.

"Next year promises a fantastic show. The cars will be faster and more aggressive-looking. The tires will be wide. The action will be tremendously exciting. We certainly expect to be in the thick of it from the very beginning."

Renault's line-up next year will be led by former Force India driver and 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Nico Hulkenberg, who joins the team alongside existing Renault driver Jolyon Palmer.