Briton Rob White, Engine Technical Director of the Renault F1 team, talks about engine freeze, customer teams and the new engine regulations for 2013.
From Renault F1 Team
Question: There has been speculation that the Renault engine suffers from a power deficit relative to its rivals. What is your view on the matter? Rob White: I believe the maximum power of the Renault engine within the useful RPM range is not as good as the best of its competitors. Analysis of observed car performance supports this conclusion but it is impossible to accurately quantify differences in engine power except by comparison of power measured on the dynamometer. The reasons for this deficit are historical, resulting from engine developments undertaken during successive cycles of engine homologation. Changes to the engine have been restricted by the Sporting Regulations since the 2007 season but the way in which the engine is used has changed greatly during the same period. For example, we have seen two reductions in maximum RPM, engine life has doubled, KERS was installed and removed, and refuelling has gone. These changes have been handled by "retuning" the engines and by allowing limited modifications. The engine suppliers have operated within these rules to develop the engines currently racing and, considering that the engines are all different, as are the internal constraints within the engineering teams, the outcome after a number of "open-loop" iterations is understandable. Of course, characteristics of the engine other than its power contribute to the performance of the car teams. Driveability, heat rejection, weight and installed stiffness are significant, but overall car performance is most sensitive to engine power. Renault is committed to supply fully competitive engines and we are confident that this is possible within the current rules framework administered by the FIA, but we cannot be satisfied while the power of our engine remains significantly behind the best. Q: At the start of the season, there was much talk that an engine's fuel economy could play a decisive role in the no-refuelling era. Has that proved the case? White: Not to any meaningful extent. Engine fuel consumption is an important performance characteristic, second only to power, and the weight of fuel carried in the car is directly related to its fuel consumption. With no refuelling in 2010, this is more important during the race than in 2009, but the opposite is true in qualifying: in 2009, qualifying on the race-start fuel level, there was an opportunity to convert a fuel saving into a lap time advantage in qualifying. The effect is well understood and all competitors have worked to optimise performance in this area. Apart from operational errors, it would be an exaggeration to suggest that fuel consumption differences are decisive in 2010. Recent Articles
|
Racing Multimedia
Recommendations |