http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/v..._as_big_boss_Ghosn_says_situation_is_serious/ Renault asks for F1 engine freeze extension as big boss Ghosn says situation is serious Read more http://grandprix247.com/2014/02/28/...-as-big-boss-ghosn-says-situation-is-serious/ Renault has asked for an extension to Fridayâs deadline for the development freeze of its troubled Formula 1 V6 turbo power unit, used by Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Caterham and Lotus. Actually, the homologation deadline is Friday at midnight, when the basic performance specifications of Mercedes, Ferrari and Renaultâs new power units are set to be formally homologated by Formula 1′s governing body. But Auto Motor und Sport reports that Renault, grappling so obviously with its new V6 and related systems, asked the FIA for a postponement of the deadline on Thursday. Correspondent Michael Schmidt claims that Renault, supplier to the reigning world champion team Red Bull and three others, has asked for âtwo to threeâ more months to get to the bottom of its technical problems. The Renault V6 turbo power unit has had a troubled infancy Renaultâs request will be on the agenda at Fridayâs meeting of the strategy group in London, Schmidt added. It is reported that Renault president Carlos Ghosn has already met with FIA president Jean Todt âto convince him of the seriousness of the situationâ. Renault issued a statement saying: âRenault is providing the reference Power Unit and appropriate supplementary material to the FIA, as per todayâs homologation deadline. There is a background request from some teams for alternative proposals (as will be discussed by the strategy group today) that regard some parts and components. However, the basic requirements of the homologation deadline will be delivered today as mandated by the FIA.â (GMM) Read more http://grandprix247.com/2014/02/28/...-as-big-boss-ghosn-says-situation-is-serious/
All teams had the same time to develop their cars...why should the engine manufacturer for champion team be given extra time?
No they shouldn't, unless the other manufacturers also get given the opportunity to iron out any issues they have with their engines too. The amnesty should be available to all as during that period Renault may find a fix that then gives them an advantage that takes them ahead of the others, so how fair would that be?
lol i would so love to visit an alternate dimension where this happened to Mercedes, and see the absolute outrage and threats to boycott the sport. But no i can't see it happening for that exact reason, none of the 4 teams involved have any of the most highly regarded or popular drivers, so there simply won't be a negative reaction from those watching, most will probably be celebrating and preaching nonsense about them all being given the same rules and time to develop their cars, a point which seems to not exist when people were complaining like crazy the last half a decade about certain teams having an arguably smaller advantage in comparison.
No. It's nobody's fault except from Renault's. They will get it right eventually but it just depends how long it will take. They only have themselves to blame.
For the spectacle yes they should be allowed to develop, but so should Ferrari and Mercedes. As much as I don't want another Red Bull domination the sports going to struggle for finishers as it is.
To support the participant and prevent the sport being mocked yes they should be allowed to continue development, however so should all the other teams and manufacturer. If they are allowed to continue development whilst the others are not, Renault will gain advantage because they will have data feedback from actual races at a variance of tracks - they will also be able to learn from other engine manufacturer and teams designs and mistakes. So for me its a yes in the interest of the support, but not at the detriment to the others. Extend the cut off to either the end of the initial fly aways or the summer break.
By all means give them 3 months to fix their mess up but give Merc and Ferrari 3 months of their choosing to develop their engines. Renault have engineers working flat out, the other engine teams will have scheduled to reduce their engine dev teams down as of today. So only fair to give others 3 month when they have engine dev team ready. Everyone had the power train rules at the same time. Renault do need to be able to 'fix' their power unit other wise 2014 will be only 2/3 of what it should be. But why should Ferarri and Merc be at a disadvantage by their power units being frozen tonight just because Renault messed up?
So basically we're all agreeing. Give them time to fix the problems, but offer up the time to Mercedes and Ferrari to Sorted!
It would be the only fair way to do it... All or nothing. If the Renault is as bad as they say, they can't leave it as is as it would ruin the season. But they can't give Renault an extension exclusively. If that happened and Renault gained an advantage over their rivals, there would be uproar.
I would have to say no. It's all down to cooling which they can change and experiment on. I'm a lotus fan so I'm as disappointed as the other Renault powered fans but it would be unfair to have that advantage and deep down we know we had an advantage on the last engine change for similar reasons. Tbh lotus and caterham seem to have the better solution and reliability anyway so it's more a problem for the 4 car red bull team .
I thought I heard somewhere that the teams were still allowed to develop post-homologation to improve reliability? Seeing as that's all Renault need, why is it an issue? Or have I misheard this?
These are proper engines. You can't expect to to change the whole power train and not have initial problems to iron out. And some have managed to get the new systems working pretty well, others significantly less so. Out of interest, do you consider these engines to be less "proper" engines than the 1.5 litre turbos of the 80s?
I would also add that F1 is about innovation. Keeping the same V8 engines for years without development is not proper F1 in my book.
you mean like the uproar when Meredes had a secret test last year and pretty much got away with it? F1 need renault more than renault need f1. This whole problem is down to the FIA. "build a completly new innovative power unit, but you can only test it 12 times, starting a month or so before the first race", I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with a season full of USGP 2005's.
FIA: You can of course test the power unit on a dyno as much as you want. Plus as long as the car is not close to an F1 car you can actually test it in a car!!!!! If I remember correctly the teams have actually had an extra 12 months to develop the power units! They were originally supposed to use the v6 in 2013! So I would guess they have had over 2 years to develop the power unit. My guess is too many accountants and not enough engineers!
No... Not really at all like that. The test shouldn't have happened, but in the long run, it really didn't provide Mercedes with any major advantage. If Renault were allowed to exclusively develop and dominated the next four years... that would be a mess. I agree with the above though... Don't restrict development on these engines at all. I want to see the pendulum swing back and forth when it comes to who's on top.
Once every team gets the same extra time the. It's no problem but I hope it not a matter of red bull or Renault powered teams benefitting from this extention or it will be grossly unfair. I say give all teams the extra time or give none.
