Renault F1: Determined to Return to the Front

Rob White, the deputy director of Renault F1’s technical branch, spoke to Crash.net about the winter testing. Then he discussed Renault F1’s relationships with its partners. Finally, he concluded by reaffirming the French manufacturer’s ambitions in the premier motorsport discipline despite the challenging start to the 2014 season.

Crash.net: The pre-season was difficult for you, but I imagine the two weeks leading up to the Melbourne Grand Prix were even more stressful. Could you tell us more about that?

Rob White: We have worked very hard, but not just during the two weeks leading up to the first race. Of course, the tension rises, and the race is the baptism of fire where everyone can gauge where they stand in relation to others. Especially after a winter testing campaign that wasn’t up to the level we expected, so naturally, it’s a backs-to-the-wall situation with a lot of work to do when arriving at the first race. But it didn’t start just two weeks ago and it’s not over yet.

Before the Australian Grand Prix weekend, weren’t you a bit worried about how events would unfold when the cars took to the track for Friday’s practice?

We were aware of the work that had been done but also aware of what still needed to be accomplished. I don’t think worry was on the agenda. We knew we had made progress in how to make the engine work in Formula 1 during the first two test sessions [in Jerez and Bahrain, ed.]; obviously, we didn’t know how the drivers would feel about it or the benefits we would gain in terms of on-track performance… But the main thing is to move forward, and there’s still a lot of work to be done.

The main goal of the initial tests was to allow engine manufacturers to better understand their power units, but similar to the tire supplier Pirelli, who struggled due to the lack of testing in 2013, don’t you think that Formula 1 is shooting itself in the foot by allowing so few tests?

I don’t think so. We fell behind in the preparation of the trials, which meant that the validation of system tests and integration we had to carry out was barely started. But with the results observed since then, I don’t believe there’s much to say about the winter testing schedule. Although the dates weren’t published, and we didn’t know if it would be a little later or a little earlier, what was decided was ultimately perfectly in line with what we had planned.

The fact of not being ready was a significant setback in relation to our internal objectives and the management of the stages of our project. We knew that we had used up all our leeway in the schedule and that to address the new issues that would arise, we would have to make compromises. It was the only way to go. Now, our task is to continue catching up. All the differences in terms of performance on the broader scale; whether in terms of power, reliability, handling, in all these areas, we are improving over time.

Our competitors are improving too, but whatever measure you take, whether kilowatts, number of tenths per lap, or other, it also translates into a period of time. Our challenge now is to ensure that progress is rapid; the amount of improvements we need to make in a given time follows a fairly steep slope.

Can you quantify the gap between where you are and your initial goals, and perhaps in relation to your competitors?

I cannot talk about that because it’s a bit delicate without writing down the different steps of our project. We don’t have the same delay in all areas. Moreover, we don’t know exactly where our competitors stand in their own respective projects.

Considering specific teams, as you have an agreement with Red Bull, how closely have you collaborated with them compared to other teams? Obviously, your partnership is slightly different in terms of terminology and content…

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of the relationship between the chassis group and the engine group during the design and development of a race car. Clearly, our relationship with Red Bull is extremely strong, extremely close; it has lasted for many years and has developed even further recently. For the new engine and the new car, this is the first time we are doing it from scratch with Red Bull, therefore, it has been rewarding and truly a good experience.

We are extremely proud of our relationship with Red Bull. It is a very demanding company, but we see that as a strength, not a problem. We also want our engine to be just as competitive in the single-seaters of other teams we work with. Obviously, we also have a long-standing relationship with Lotus, and they have accompanied us during the conception and development of the new power unit.

Toro Rosso is a new relationship for us, so we had to get to know a new group of people and at the same time, build a new car. In this case, it was more about explaining what the engine is or was going to be, so they could design a car to match it rather than the other way around, getting involved later in the process. With Caterham, it was somewhere between the two. If you will, each team has a different personality.

Of course, it’s the same engine in all four cars. The nature of our relationship with Red Bull is different because we work more closely with them. But the differences in the engine are extremely minimal.

During the winter testing period, Caterham was doing the best and Red Bull the worst, but during the first free practice session in Melbourne, it was reversed. When you are looking to make progress, you need to work closely with one team; as it is Red Bull with which you need to work the closest, doesn’t that have an impact on the other teams downstream?

Maybe when we talk about distance covered in a day, some things are specific to each car but some are not. The largest part of what we do with the engine group is not car-specific; two small things connecting the chassis and the engine are unique to each car, but time lost on the track sporadically due to reliability issues or difficulties in getting the engine to work could almost certainly be independent of the sum of engineering efforts spent on the design and development of the car and engine group. So no, I don’t think there is a direct link between these two points.

You said you were always trying to catch up with the other engine manufacturers; do you think you can get back to their level this year, or could it take more time?

We have been in Formula 1 for a long time, we know a lot about motorsport, we are in Formula 1 to win races and we will not be satisfied until we do. Formula 1 is a competition where it is extraordinarily difficult to succeed. We are determined to return to where we need to be. It is completely evident to Renault, our parent company, and to our external partners that we cannot accept being uncompetitive and therefore must regain our standing.

We should not underestimate the competition; Formula 1 is difficult for everyone. Previously, everyone had us in their sights, and we want to get back to where others were wondering how long it would take them to catch up with us.