Denis, we are three races into the V8 era. What have been the lessons so far?
Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations: I think that reliable engines were something we had taken for granted until the end of last year. With the move to the V8, we have seen many enforced engine changes, and failures in the race – including with Giancarlo in Bahrain. Few teams have avoided this, and that reflects how much effort is involved in developing the V8. Certainly, the engine's strategic importance has been greater during these opening races than ever before.
Why have there been so many problems?
DC: The V8s are still young engines, and I don't think any team was 100% ready for the start of the season. At Renault, we had done a lot of mileage in the winter, encountered problems that we had worked hard to resolve, and started the season in a stronger position than some of our rivals. But every manufacturer is still working through the challenges encountered early in the life of a new engine, and nobody can yet say they have solved them all.
In terms of performance, how does the Renault engine compare to the competition?
DC: The conclusions we can draw show that engine performance is very similar from team to team. There are some small differences in peak revs, for example, but there are no bad V8 engines out there. Now, the challenge is to add performance to what is still a young engine, without compromising reliability. It is not an easy job.
What are the challenges with developing the V8 engines?
DC: Simply, it is harder to find performance than it was with the V10, especially this early in the engine's development. But on the other hand, the competition is closer-matched than last year, which makes development even more important. Several teams are at an equal level on ultimate performance, and the first one to gain the upper hand could take a decisive advantage. So nobody can afford to relax, and we are putting the same resources and effort into our development as in previous years.
What has been the secret to Renault's success in the opening races?
DC: I think we have seen that our project was a little better prepared than some of our competitors, and we are very proud to have won the final race of the V10 era, and the opening races of the V8 period. It has been interesting to compare our performance, because we have learned that pure performance on a single lap is not necessarily our strongest suit at the moment. In qualifying conditions, we are very close to a number of teams. But we seem to have an advantage over a full race distance.
Where does the advantage come from?
DC: We have designed the car and engine to win races – not just to get pole positions. From an engine point of view, that may mean we are able to run higher revs for longer, but overall, we have a car that gives the drivers the confidence to attack from the first lap to the last. We know that it is hard to gain a significant advantage in single lap performance under these regulations. On the other hand, the ability to run the car in a competitive configuration from the first laps to the last can be decisive.
The RS26B arrives in Imola. What are the differences?
DC: It is a normal evolutionary step early in the development cycle: we have looked to gain performance by increasing the peak revs, and improving areas like cylinder filling and combustion. In qualifying trim, we expect a gain of several tenths of a second and the final dyno tests before the Grand Prix will allow us to determine exactly how much additional performance is available during the race.
Will both drivers use the engine at Imola?
DC: No, it will only be available for Giancarlo to use. His retirement in Bahrain put him ‘out of cycle' relative to our development schedule, and we had to take a decision on whether to accelerate the introduction of the B spec, which had been planned for race 5. We decided it was important to do so, and have pushed our processes to make it happen. However, this early debut may lead us to use to conserve some of the engine's potential performance during the race in order to not compromise reliability. Fernando will receive the B spec engine at the Nürburgring, as per our original schedule.
