RENAULT engineering chief Pat Symonds is confident the Enstone team will "bounce back strongly" and insists there will be no knee-jerk reaction to their current problems.

The double and reigning constructors' champions delivered an improved performance in the Malaysian Grand Prix after a disappointing start to the season in Australia.

Giancarlo Fisichella came home sixth, while Heikki Kovalainen was eighth to claim his maiden point in Formula One, putting behind him the negativity that surrounded his debut in Melbourne.

However, the gap between Renault and the two leading protagonists at present in McLaren and Ferrari is considerable.

The French marque already trail constructors' championship leaders McLaren by 24 points at this early stage.

It would appear a third successive title is already a long shot, yet ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, Symonds insists the team are pulling out all the stops to right the wrongs of the first two races.

"I think we achieved the best we could have hoped for in Sunday's race, especially after our qualifying performance on Saturday," said Symonds, Renault's executive director of engineering.