Taffin: Renault engines have gained “around twenty horsepower”

Rémi Taffin, the engine technical director of Renault Sport F1, returned to the developments made to the Power Units at the Canadian GP which seem to have brought satisfaction.

Published on 12/06/2018 à 17:45

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Taffin: Renault engines have gained “around twenty horsepower”

Renault Sport F1 seems satisfied with the developments made to its Power Units at the Canadian GP. Red Bull placed one of its RB14s on the podium (with Max Verstappen), while the second car de Milton Keynes followed in fourth place. As for the Renault R.S. 18s of Nico Hulkenberg et Carlos Sainz Jr, they both finished in the points with seventh and eighth place.

Rémi Taffin, the engine technical director of Renault Sport F1, returned to AUTOhebdo on the developments made to the engines of Viruses-Châtillon.

“There has been an improvement of 0”3 since Melbourne, including 0”1 thanks to the new fuel introduced in Barcelona. If we had to put a notion of power, it is equivalent to around twenty horses, which is in line with our expectations, explained Rémi Taffin to AUTOweekly. We are already working on the next development, which will take place at the start of the school year, after the mandatory closure of factories during the summer. As an engine manufacturer, we prefer to introduce a new version at Monza rather than in Singapore because the results will be more visible there. »

If tensions are still felt between Red Bull and Renault, Rémi Taffin plays for appeasement by ensuring that relations between the two companies remain good, even if the future of this partnership could be called into question with Honda in particular which powers Toro Rosso.

“You have to be pragmatic. We've been working together for 12 years. We won a whole bunch of races and world championships. I don't see why we shouldn't continue. We always talk about who said that, but we must not forget the 600 people who work in Milton Keynes and the 400 who are in Viry-Châtillon. These people get along well, there is no problem. We have to put that back at the center of the game, we have a good relationship.”

Discover the full interview with Rémi Taffin and the analysis of the Canadian GP in AUTO issue 2169hebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms and on newsstands this Wednesday.