The Renault RS25 engine achieved its first milestone yesterday when Fernando Alonso’s V10 took victory in Malaysia. Denis Chevrier explains the satisfaction of the team at Viry.

Denis, how satisfying was it to see the RS25 complete its first life cycle without any problems?
Denis Chevrier: Without being over confident, it is a source of immense satisfaction to have reached the end of the second race for the RS25, without any incidents throughout the engine life. It is testament to the quality of the work the team has done over the winter, and a great reward for all our efforts in the design office, on the dyno and in testing. We managed our mileage and performance carefully in Melbourne and Malaysia, and this allowed us to complete the race distance without any problems. Until you have actually completed the challenge for real, it is hard to be totally confident; it is extremely pleasing to see our predictions confirmed on the track.

Were you surprised by the excellent level of reliability shown by the engine manufacturers?
DC: It was not a surprise for us, because we are well aware of the professionalism with which our competitors work. Already in 2004, the engine manufacturers had to step up to a big reliability challenge, and did so successfully; we have seen the same excellent results this year. The question that remains is what performance compromises have been made up and down the grid to achieve this reliability? For Renault, the satisfaction is that our overall compromise has been such that we have had the fastest car on track at the first two races.

Does this mean the challenge of the 2005 regulations has now been met?
DC: Far from it. Reliability remains, as it always has been, an over-riding priority, but it is by no means the only parameter by which we judge the engine’s success. We have no room to relax, and will not be lifting off in any area which can further improve our performance.