Christian Horner - Might not take the New Upgraded Renault Engine

Red Bull Team Principle Christian Horner has expressed concern about the anticipated Renault Engine Upgrade which is set to be available as of Austin Grand Prix. 

Renault who have been plagued with reliability issues ever since the Engine Rule Change from the V8s to V6s and as a result, they have not been able to use any of it's 12 tokens to upgrade it's Power Unit. Horner has told Motorsport that the new Renault Engine might not be taken by either Red Bull or Toro Rosso, saying that "It's possibility" when questioned on whether they will take the upgrade or not. 

Because of it's track record for being unreliable and considering the current  spec has proven to be a little bit more consistent as of late, Horner is worried that the new Engine might not be reliable and therefore hamper both teams as they head towards the close of the 2015 season. This is something which Toro Rosso Team Boss Franz Tost agrees with, stating that there has to be a guarantee that there will be a performance advantage from the upgrade, otherwise it will not justify taking all the grid penalties for an engine change to which will give them no performance and no reliability.

"There are always different reasons behind an engine change," he told Motorsport.com. "First of all we need a performance advantage behind it, otherwise it doesn't make sense. Up to now we don't have all the information about the D-spec. We will see."

 

Replies (3)

Login to reply
  • khasmir

    Posts: 893

    Will the updated PU be reliable (enough), that is the million dollar question.
    But how can you know unless you try it?

    • + 0
    • Sep 9 2015 - 22:43
    • They will receive data from Renault that will help them determine whether it is reliable or not

      • + 0
      • Sep 10 2015 - 16:09
    • khasmir

      Posts: 893

      Before the start of the season the Renault PU was looking good on their dyno's and so did the data. But when they put it in an actual car things went all pear shaped, same for Honda. There needs to be a good match between the factory testing and what happens in the car. Ferrari had a similar problem a few years ago where their windtunnel data did not correlate with the car on the track.
      You can test all you want but if your tests do not simulate the actual conditions on the track... ;)

      • + 0
      • Sep 10 2015 - 18:53

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

Test calendar

See full test schedule

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
6 - Mar 8
Australia
13 - Mar 15
China
27 - Mar 29
Japan
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
1 - May 3
United States of America
22 - May 24
Canada
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
12 - Jun 14
Spain
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
10 - Apr 12
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
5 - Jun 7
Monaco Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
See full schedule

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar