Renault Sport F1 is gradually getting its head out of the water

The road is still long but Renault Sport F1 still working hard to catch up in the development of its 6l turbo/hybrid V1.6, which is mainly penalized in top speed against the block Mercedes who is the most efficient at the start of the season. If no customer stable Viruses-Châtillon did not get on the podium at the Chinese Grand Prix, the Losange can at least be satisfied with seeing three cars finish in the points with the Red Bull de Daniel Ricciardo et Sebastian Vettel in the top five while Daniil Kvyat managed to secure tenth place on his Toro Rosso.

The results are rather positive for Renault Sport F1 which expected to suffer on the Shanghai circuit which offers a very long straight line favoring the star engines. “Pushing three cars into the top ten, with the potential for a fourth, all on a track where power plays a key role, represents a good result for us this weekend.”, declares Rémi Taffin, the director of track activities. “We are certainly still slightly behind but have made real progress within all our partner teams, particularly in terms of energy management. In addition, we have been able to find the right balance between the fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine and energy recovery. This allowed our teams to extract maximum performance from their cars. »

The French engine manufacturer will take advantage of the truce which precedes the start of the European season with the Spanish Grand Prix to try to further reduce the gap which separates Renault from Ferrari and especially Mercedes. ?We are aware that we still need to progress and continue to improve the reliability achieved so far. Three weeks now separate us from the Spanish Grand Prix and we have an intense work program at the end of this weekend. We are clearly moving in the right direction and have the firm intention of staying the course”, concludes Rémi Taffin.

Discover the analysis of the Chinese Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1957 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms, and from tomorrow on newsstands.