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French engineering at its finest.
Very disasppointed with the sound and looks of F1 2014.

On a positive note, it's very unpredictable for a change.

Still i hope 3.0 V10's will come back someday... not much chance though.
#304 - CSF
Renault had a miserable time in the Jerez testing. The company’s Rob White explains what happened.
“We have not run enough laps, and when we have they have not been run at an acceptable performance level,” he says. “The underlying causes are not straightforward: there isn’t a single component or system that has caused particular trouble. A number of related things have been troublesome, principally concerning the control and operation of the various sub-systems of the Power Unit within the car. For example on the first run day, we had problems with a sub-system within the Energy Store that did not directly concern either the battery nor the operation of the battery – it is an electronic part that was in the same housing as the Energy Store.

“We subsequently had problems with turbocharger and boost control systems with knock-on effects on the associated engine management systems, subsequently provoking mechanical failures.”

“Between days 1 and 2 with the help of Red Bull, we implemented a later level of hardware for the rest of the test to address the problem within the Energy Store. This ran for the remaining days. In parallel to running in Jerez, the team at Viry has run dyno test programs to investigate the trackside problems and to propose solutions. We identified the probable root cause of our main turbo control issues, implemented some workarounds that were first seen at the end of day 3 and deployed in the three cars for day 4. This established a very minimalist baseline from which we could build.”

The engines had done considerable running on the dynos before the test, why were the problems not spotted beforehand.

“We believed our initial configuration was a robust start point for track use but it has not proved to be the case. We have done substantial dyno running in a similar configuration with few issues. We now know that the differences between dyno and car are bigger than we expected, with the consequence that our initial impressions were incomplete and imperfect. L ll?

Our intention was to run the car; we are very frustrated to face this litany of issues that we should have ironed out on the dyno and which have deprived us of a precious learning opportunity.”

But the test did provide useful information?

“Absolutely, and at this stage every kilometre is hugely valuable. We recognize that when the cars have run, they are not running at an acceptable level. We are a long way from the type of operation we had planned and prepared for – largely as a result of the workarounds we have implemented – but all the information is useful. In dealing with the issues we have moved further away from the configuration we were comfortable with, which has resulted in the relatively slow times, but the running has given us a vastly greater understanding of the issues we face. We absolutely expect to have a more definitive solution in place for the next session in Bahrain.”

Did the Renault teams have the same problems?

“Several problems are common to all, as the power unit is the same specification in all the cars except for relatively minor installations differences. Some problems are particular to one installation environment, but it is our responsibility to deal with all of them.

“In general, the individual issues are understood; we have worked with all three teams running this week and despite appearances, have made some useful progress. We have not uncovered any big new fundamental problem, although we must recognize that our limited running makes it impossible to be certain.

“Of course we now have a large job list for Bahrain as a lot of the items we wanted to test in Jerez we have not been able to cover. The next stage is to identify the root causes for the problems we experienced, to develop the solutions to strengthen our validation process so we can be more confident to tackle Bahrain in a more normal way.”

In view of this test, are you still in favour of the new regulations?

“Yes absolutely. The powertrain regulations are a massive challenge but also an opportunity, and are hugely important in placing F1 back at the vanguard of technology. We have the necessary tools and determination to succeed.

“The step we must take to reach an acceptable level of in-car performance is bigger than we would have liked. It is unacceptable that we have not been able to mitigate the problems sufficiently to allow our partners to run at any length. We are working hard to correct this in time for Bahrain and aim to make amends there.”


Oh dear! Not just struggling to get it working but not seeing the performance. Renault customers are going to be unhappy bunnies if they don't get this sorted for Bahrain.
The cars are still faster than they were in 1999-2000, and they have less downforce and harder tires, which should theoretically result in closer, more driver-centric racing. I'm perfectly happy to sit back and see how this all plays out.
even if they are slower now by the end of the year they would of improved soo much time through refinement.
lol dat double points reference. Seems like nobody wants it..
Great news, i hope they can fight back to the top.
I really hope that the Williams goes as good as it is supposed to look (as if any car ever looked ugly in a Martini livery). They seem to have things finally going their way with a lucrative and iconic sponsorship and their change to Mercedes engines coming in pretty good timing. I can't wait to see how their new livery will look like!
Let's hope that their strong times in Jerez will continue in Bahrain and Melbourne.
Simona de Silvestro gets development role at Sauber...
Not even that. It's an 'affiliation' role. Unless an F1 tean is committing to a race seat then as a driver your being used. I can't imagine this sort of publicity for what is a non-role in any other industry
Same could be said for 90% of the rest of the grid too. Considering he hasn't had millions spent on prior to racing cars like the rest I think he's doing pretty damn well.
Quote from Intrepid :Same could be said for 90% of the rest of the grid too. Considering he hasn't had millions spent on prior to racing cars like the rest I think he's doing pretty damn well.

He spent his fair share before he went into GT academy. Wolfgang Reip or Ordonez are way more worthy of the sponsorship tbh
Mardenborough is born in 1991 while reip is born in 1987 and ordonez in 1985. Redbulls wants them young. Even Mardenborough is already 23 so he has a lot more time left than 27 year old reip or 29 year old ordonez. F1 teams won't get ordonez no matter how good he is if he is now 29, after a season of gp3 will be 30. Even if goes to do a season of gp2 he will be 31 at earliest when he can get into F1.
This thread is closed

Formula 1 Season 2014
(1760 posts, closed, started )
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