Rémi Taffin concedes Renault’s delay

After the first kilometers covered in Jerez, the teams powered by the French V6 turbo / hybrid are clearly behind in terms of time spent on the track compared to the teams powered by the blocks. Mercedes et Ferrari. Rémi Taffin admits this delay, but also explains that progress is certain.

“The problems were with the computer hardware. We also suffered from software bugs. This particularly affected the energy battery. We developed several developments that we were able to test on the test bench and in the field since we had two promotional days (notably with Lotus), and everything went as expected. We believe that the problem we suffered from during the first tests is now resolved. »

“The second step was solving software problems. In Jerez, we noticed poor handling of the single-seaters on the track, which was explained by calibration or supercharging problems. We've been working on it over the last two weeks and we've made some progress. The last point was the integration problems encountered with our partners. We worked with them on the test bench and we will go to Bahrain without repeating all the problems we suffered during the first tests. Although we are a little behind our initial schedule, we have now done what we normally would have done in Jerez. Everything should therefore go well in Bahrain. Either way, there is a rule that allows us to make changes if we encounter significant reliability concerns, which we have already done, and I think we will do it again. »

Rémi Taffin also discusses the problems encountered by Toro Rosso during his promotion day in Misano. “If we thought we wouldn't have any problems with Toro Rosso, we had other problems, which didn't surprise us. We know the reasons. Since that day, we have been working on these issues, but there is nothing we can do during a promotional operation. When you start the day with a certain configuration, you cannot change it afterwards. It is therefore difficult to react. »

The single-seaters equipped with V6 turbo/hybrid engines will try to catch up during the Bahrain tests from February 19.

Also find our Guide F1, on sale in digital version from February 17 at 22 p.m. and from February 19 on newsstands.