Renault has found 'a lot of kilowatts' on dyno, says McLaren
- Published on 20 Dec 2018 10:18
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- By: Harry Mattocks
McLaren has been told by Renault that they have found "a lot of kilowatts" of power in the development of their engine for the 2019 season.
The French constructor could not do enough to save its relationship with Red Bull for next season, but if its claims are to be believed then it will mean that they have made decent progress in its quest to be on a level playing field with Mercedes and Ferrari.
This news will also be encouraging for McLaren, as they are trying to get back to the front end of the grid after some of the worst seasons in their illustrious history.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, McLaren boss Zak Brown said that Renault were optimistic: "They are telling us that they are very pleased with their winter progress. They have found a lot of kilowatts, and think they will be in the ballpark.
"It is not appropriate for me to quote the numbers they have given us, but I think they feel they are going to be very competitive next year. There is a lot of cautious optimism, but we clearly don't want to get ahead of ourselves," he added. "We have done that before and we are not going to make the same mistake twice.
"So it is a very head down approach. Development is going well, and we are on track with what we are wanting to achieve. But ultimately obviously we have no idea where the competition is, other than speculating. Everyone plants their different stories: they either want to under play it or over play it. I don't think we will obviously know until we get to Barcelona.
"We are pleased with the progress we have made. We have done things differently, everyone is working well together, so it feels like a more quiet confidence. But we are on our toes. We know this is an important year for us to show progress and that comes with some exciting nervous energy."
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Replies (13)
Login to replyboudy
Posts: 1,168
Didn't they say that last year also.
Bhurt
Posts: 320
They always do. They're contenders until the first day of testing when their car turns out to be a backmarker.
But for the next few months McLaren will be the most improved team on the grid. Again.
f1ski
Posts: 726
is 10 alot
f1dave
Posts: 782
Real racers measure horsepower not kilowatts.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Real racers also measure in milli seconds. But, times have changed. In a not so distant future, we will have to move completely to kilowatts.
cricho
Posts: 80
Hybrid era still
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Hp and kW are pretty translatable though arent they? We would probably still use hp, even in a full hp era.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
For the good of F1 I hope that's true
Kean
Posts: 692
I really hope Renault has found more power and reliability. Naturally they won't be on the same level as Ferrari or Mercedes, but I hope they're closer than they've been since 2014. Also, I really hope Renault is better than Honda. I don't think I could stand an entire year of Horner/Helmut/Max gloating. Sort of tired of Red Bull, I could stand them when Ricciardo was driving for them but now... sure Verstappen is a super talent but still, he's just... he pisses me off.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I think they've found more power, the questions are how much, and if their reliability is better. If they dont get any closer to Ferrari or Merc' next year, I feel they will be swallowed by quite a few competitors. They were lucky to have Haas failing to score points, and they were lucky that Sauber found their proper mojo midseason and onward, and that Force India had to reboot midseason, because at least 2 out of those 3 looked far more impressive than them, and many times STR were at least on par. If Honda were to beat them right from the start, or even equal them, then Renault has lost the season. They are just too unwilling to release updates post midseason to keep up.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
I hope Honda finds more power, Somebody challenging Hamilton would be great other than Ferrari. With regards to Renault I hope that they gain power and produce the performance increase that is required to get at least podium positions. Renault ran down their F1 engine division in order to save money before they started investing again.
Most likely is that Honda improves by vast amounts considering the investment by both parties.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I dont know if its vast, but following the trend, I think Honda will start out about equal with Renault, with bothing having decreased the gap to Ferrari and Merc' somewhat and with Honda having better reliability due to them being able to stay with their current layout rather than redoing it all from scratch like Renault have to, and then I think Honda will longterm upgrade their way past Renault.
cricho
Posts: 80
For 2019 renault will surley improve their Hp/kilowatts, it would be awsome for everyone if they can challenge MERC and FERRARI. I dont think they are quite there yet.
Renault will beat HAAS simply because HAAS have no drivers with talent.
As for REDBULL HONDA y got a feeling they will miss the front pack next year, they will experience a learning curve that will hold them back a bit. WHICH IS NORMAL IN F1.
I dont think TORO ROSSO will be a direct competitor to RENAULT in 2019, bottom midfileld max.
Hope to see RENAULT and MCLAREN as the underdogs next season!. Tired of seeing the same three teams on top.