Renault is a secret to Red Bull’s recent success in formula one, the French carmaker claims.
The common perception, however, is that the energy drink-owned team has dominated the sport in recent years despite Mercedes-Benz actually supplying a more powerful 2.4 litre V8 engine to Red Bull’s rivals.

“The Mercedes engine is indeed about 15 horse power more powerful than ours,” confirmed Renault Sport F1′s Jean-Francois Caubet.

“But in terms of driveability and fuel economy, it is our engine in front. So when it comes to the bottom line, we are a little bit better than Mercedes,” he claimed to Germany’s Sport Bild magazine.

The most crucial factor, Caubet claimed, is the engine’s fuel economy amid the backdrop of the recent ban on in-race refuelling.

“Because our consumption is lower, Red Bull can start the races with 15 to 18 litres less petrol in the tank than the competition,” he said.

“That makes a big difference.”

Another factor is Sebastian Vettel’s driving, he agreed, with the back to back world champion having a “very fuel efficient” style, and being “extremely interested in the data”.

“They are both key factors when the driver wants to use the engine perfectly,” said Caubet.

Sam Michael has scoffed at Red Bull’s claim that the Renault engines in the rear of the championship-leading RB6 are significantly down on power.

Red Bull has consistently claimed its Renault V8 is up to 30 horse power behind, revealing that McLaren is blocking its move to industry leading Mercedes.

The Austrian team is also openly upset that the FIA will not impose performance parity, with Mercedes refusing to voluntary de-tune its engines.

Bluntly, Australian Michael – technical director at Cosworth-powered Williams – denounces the saga as “bullshit”.

“It’s simply to gain an advantage,” he is quoted by the German language motorsport-total.com.

“This (Renault) engine has often been on pole position this year. You cannot tell me it has not enough power,” insisted Michael.

“They’re just lobbying for an upgrade. That’s ok, because it’s part of the business. These teams are trying to strengthen their position.”

He believes all the engines in F1 at present are separated by “no more than one or two tenths”.

It was believed Williams, like Lotus, was considering switching to Renault for 2011, but the British team has now confirmed it is staying with Cosworth.

Mercedes insists it is still not worried about Michael Schumacher’s outings on the saddle of powerful superbikes.

Immediately before travelling to Singapore this week, the seven time world champion tested 180 horse power KTM and Honda bikes at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany.

It was on the same sort of German IDM championship bike in early 2009 that Schumacher fell and hurt his neck; an injury that prevented him from racing in injured Felipe Massa’s Ferrari cockpit last August.

But Mercedes’ Norbert Haug said in July that if “Michael can deal with the risk, so can we”.

And a spokesman for the German marque told DPA news agency on Wednesday: “Michael has fun riding bikes and knows exactly what he is doing, and we know that too.”

Schumacher arrived in Singapore on Wednesday, and immediately headed to the Marina Bay area to inspect the street circuit on a scooter.

The German has never raced in the Asian city-state, nor in a formula one car under lights.

“Driving a new track has never been too complicated for me and I am usually very quick to learn and find the rhythm,” he said.

Fellow Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was asked in Singapore on Thursday if he will be offering advice about night racing to his famous teammate.

“He will probably ask, I probably won’t tell him anything,” he joked.

Michael Schumacher returned to the saddle of a powerful racing motorcycle this week before heading to Singapore.

According to German media reports, the 41-year-old on Tuesday morning travelled in his private plane to the Sachsenring.

He then tested 180 horse power KTM and Honda racing bikes with friends he met during his time in the IDM German superbike championship.

It was when testing the same sort of IDM bikes in early 2009 that Schumacher fell and hurt his neck; an injury that prevented him from racing in injured Felipe Massa’s Ferrari cockpit last August.

Meanwhile, Schumacher’s Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was already in Singapore on Tuesday, where he had to hitchhike back to his hotel in the cab of a truck after a taxi lost its way due to road closures around the Marina Bay circuit.

“Good luck, stay safe,” one of his Twitter followers wrote.

Adrian Newey has acknowledged that his Red Bull cars will almost certainly continue to be powered by Renault engines next year.

The Austrian team is concerned about its horse power deficit that began amid the so-called ‘engine freeze’, with Mercedes and Ferrari pulling away in that area.

But technical boss Newey told Germany’s Sport Bild that Red Bull is likely to stay with Renault.

“Where shall we go?” he is quoted as saying. “McLaren has stopped us from getting the Mercedes engine.

“So there’s only Ferrari. But we ask ourselves: if we beat them, will we still have the same specification as the Ferrari team?” admitted Newey.

And although perhaps as much as 40 horse power down, Newey acknowledges that Renault “always respond to our requests”.

He said the French marque “very strongly adhered” to the spirit of the engine freeze, developing its V8 engine less than its rivals.

“This means we now have a gap to Ferrari and Mercedes. And if Renault are not allowed to keep up, I can well imagine them withdrawing as an engine supplier,” added Newey.

More details about the shape of radical new regulations for 2013 have continued to emerge.

Earlier, it was reported that most teams have essentially agreed that the field will in future be powered by 1.6 litre, 4 cylinder turbo engines, with the cars featuring 80s-style ‘ground effect’ aerodynamics.

Monday’s reports also said drivers will be limited to using just five of the 650 horse power engines in 2013.

The online magazine GPWeek has now revealed some additional details of the new formula.

The publication said the turbo engines will run at about 10,000rpm, and feature an efficient limit on the fuel flow — culminating in a ‘green’ formula that some insiders believe might entice manufacturers back onto the grid.

KERS will also play an increasing role in F1′s future regulations, with additional heat-recovery technology to likely augment the existing hybrid systems.

Additionally, the cars’ sidepods will be moved forwards to increase driver protection, and the size of the wheel rims is expected to increase in future years.

The basis of the 2013 rules are likely to be outlined in more detail after a forthcoming meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

Norbert Haug has insisted he is not concerned about Michael Schumacher’s latest motorcycle outing.

According to the Cologne tabloid Express, the seven time world champion this week rented the Dijon-Prenois circuit in France in order to privately ride his 190 horse power Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade.

Also riding at the track were the 41-year-old’s friends including Luca Badoer and Sebastien Loeb.

Schumacher had to call off his intended return to F1 last year because he was still recovering from injuries sustained in a motorcycle testing crash.

But Haug, Mercedes’ competition boss, said he is not worried the same thing might reoccur.

“Michael can deal with the risk, and so can we,” Haug is quoted as saying.

Express also reported that Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn is this week on a four-day fishing vacation in Norway.

Cosworth has played down reports Williams is set to switch to Renault engine power in 2011.

It has been suggested that Grove based Williams is unhappy with the performance of the 2.4 litre V8, especially its degradation as it ages.

But Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that the British independent engine maker, also the supplier to the three new teams, has commenced a programme to improve the deficiencies.

And Cosworth’s business director Mark Gallagher said: “We have a three year contract with Williams, and there is no evidence they want to end this relationship.”

He also said all of the candidates to be F1′s 13th team in 2011 “with one exception” have been in talks with Cosworth.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that Cosworth is the cheapest engine supplier on the grid, with its engine costing EUR 5.5 million per year compared to the 9m price-tag for Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault power.

The publication said Nicolas Todt’s hopeful ART team wants to be powered by Ferrari.

But Gallagher insists that Cosworth provides a highly reliable product, while the input of Rubens Barrichello has helped the marque to improve the engine’s driveability.

As for the loss of horse power in the middle of the engine’s life, Gallagher revealed: “We have found the cause and brought a solution to the FIA for permission to make the change.”

(GMM)

Lotus will not run a KERS system in 2011, despite the expected return to the grid of the energy-recovery technology for next year.

Multiple sources are reporting that KERS will be back in formula one in 2011, but the new team Lotus has begun designing its next car with no plans to incorporate the boost-button concept.

“We will not use KERS next year and we have good reasons for this decision,” team boss Tony Fernandes is quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat.

“This year we had to buy nearly all the (car) parts from other suppliers but now we are in a position to build the entire car in our factory,” he explained.

“So we are trying to take advantage of the experience we have collected with the current car and to make the project more effective.

“If we were to have KERS, in accordance with the technical working group (decision), we would have to start everything again from zero in terms of weight distribution.

“The big teams are in a different boat, already with solid experience of KERS from recent years.

“What we saw last season is that it is not easy to get KERS to operate effectively and reliably; it took a lot of time, money and resources. At Lotus we are fully confident that we are going to cope without it (KERS),” added Fernandes.

Currently, FOTA’s technical group is finalising the details of the KERS return, with Ferrari and Renault pushing for a 150 horse power boost for 10 seconds each lap.

In 2009, the boost was about 80 horse power for less than 7 seconds.

It is likely that KERS will remain voluntary in 2011 and 2012 until a new engine formula debuts in 2013.

It is expected the return of KERS will be approved formally by the teams this weekend in Turkey, before the matter is referred to the FIA for inclusion in the technical regulations.
(GMM)

Williams has played down reports it is in the market for a new engine supplier.

The British team, as well as F1 newcomer Lotus and the French hopeful ART, have all been linked with a supply of Renault engines for 2011.

It is rumoured that Williams is particularly unhappy with the performance degradation of Cosworth’s 2010 engine.

But chief executive Adam Parr is quoted by motorsport-aktuell.com: “I am satisfied with them (Cosworth), we are not looking at other engines.”

He added that Williams and Cosworth are working on how to maintain the performance of the engines as they accumulate more kilometres.

“This is definitely something on which they are working and where they have already made progress,” confirmed technical director Sam Michael.

However, the Renault package looked particularly strong in Monaco recently, where the Red Bulls as well as the works car of Robert Kubica dominated qualifying and the famous street race.

“I think the Renault engine is very competitive,” Sir Frank Williams noted in the Principality.

“It is a great engine, especially on this track,” he added.

On the Grove based team’s current Cosworth units, Williams added: “We would always like more horse power, but it’s not a bad engine.”

Renault could supply its V8 engines to another team in 2011.

Currently, the French marque powers not only the team that bears its name, but also the sport’s dominant Red Bull Racing.

Confirming its bid to debut in F1 next year, GP2 team ART’s co-founder Frederic Vasseur admitted he has “good relationships with Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault”.

And Renault’s head of engine operations Remi Taffin told Auto Hebdo: “Today, nothing has been done but it is quite possible that Renault will power another team next season.”

It is possible that the new deal will replace Red Bull, whose owner Dietrich Mateschitz said in an interview mere days ago that he thinks the Renault is “30 to 40 horse power” less powerful than Mercedes’ engine.

But Taffin suggested that the new deal could be in addition to Red Bull and Enstone-based Renault.

“It would not be a problem: we have the capacity both in terms of technology and production.”

(GMM)

May 3 (GMM)  Michael Schumacher moved to shake off more of the rust of his three year retirement at the weekend by racing karts.

After finishing just tenth at the wheel of his Mercedes in China, the seven time world champion reverted to 40 horse power at the Erftlandring circuit in Germany and set pole position in a Tony Kart for the 125cc KZ2 class.

The 41-year-old German won the first of two heats, but was beaten in the second.

Not only will Schumacher’s W01 chassis be a new one in Barcelona this weekend, the package has been updated for a longer wheelbase that should satisfy his desire for a less understeering car.

“I am hoping for a better race than I had in China and of course I would not mind having had better results so far,” he said.

Red Bull boss, Christian Horner, has advised that F1 could lose its engine suppliers if the engine freeze rule is maintained.
Last year, Mercedes was considered the most powerful engine of the grid. The main teams urged the FIA to allow them to update their engines during a given period of time, consenting on minor relevance enhancements and readjustments. As a result, “the ‘touches to the engine’ are quite limited.”
Even though, in the Regulation there isn’t a stipulation for engine equality, the fall of Honda, Toyota and BMW means that there are only four engine manufacturers left: Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Cosworth. On this regard, Horner seems worried because, if the engine freeze rule hinders the manufacturers to enhance the engines they sale, everybody will choose the most powerful to this date, and this would force the others out. In other words, there’s the possibility that there would only be two brands left.
“FIA has all the information at hand to decide upon an adjustment to the engines,” Horner said from Germany to the Auto Bild Motorsport magazine. “It would be a disaster to lose another engine manufacturer at the end of the year, because they cannot compete with the others. The chassis development rules are so strict that the engine plays an ever more important role everyday.”
This year’s refueling ban means that fuel consumption will become a critical factor in the races. Renault, which supplies its engines to Red Bull, as well as the factory team, believe they have more efficient engines regarding fuel consumption, even though they have slightly less horse power.
An engine with better consumption will allow the team to refill less fuel at the beginning of the race, which is a factor that will have a value of tenths of lapping time during the first laps of a Grand Prix. Fuel levels will no longer have an incidence on the scoring times, because the first ten will not have to perform the Q3, with enough fuel to start the race.
For this reason, the single-seaters with Renault engine, could get a worse scoring in the Q3 but make significant progress during the first laps, thanks to their weight/load ratio.