Zoom "I know our team is hungry for success"

Deputy Managing Director Rob White takes questions on the new regulations and the impact on the design of the new Renault R29 challenger.

Rob, this year sees the introduction of a whole raft of new technical regulations. What are the main modifications on the engine side?
"Due to the engine freeze that has been in place since 2007, we will continue this year with our RS27 engine. However, the 2009 rules introduce some changes that mean we have to review things. For example, the life cycle of the engine has been increased as engines must now last for three Grand Prix instead of two, and the number of engines is also reduced. This therefore requires an increase in engine life which almost doubles what we have been working with up until now. For that to be possible, the rev-limit has been lowered to 18,000rpm instead of 19,000rpm. These changes may seem insignificant compared with the other major changes, but they require significant work by our team of engine engineers."

Precisely, what modifications have you had to make to the engine to meet these new technical regulations?
"In a world of frozen engines, the options were limited. It was a case of working to optimise the engine in the new context while managing this transition. So we have made very minor modifications, such as the position of the injectors and those sorts of things."

Although the KERS system is managed by the chassis team, it has had a direct impact on the engine…
"Yes, absolutely. The introduction of KERS has only been on the table since the end of 2007. It’s therefore a technology that we have had to learn very quickly to be aware of the significant impacts this system is going to have."

Several solutions were possible for the installation of KERS. What has the team opted for?
"The rules state that modifications to the front or rear of the engine are possible to allow the integration of KERS. As far as we are concerned, we’ve opted for the integration at the front of the power train. It’s a classic solution of electrically driven machinery at the front of the engine with a system of batteries installed in the chassis. Some other teams have also opted for this solution."

What has been the approach of the team in managing these rule changes?
"As usual, the final decisions in terms of the 2009 technical regulations were made very late. We therefore had to advance progressively as the negotiations took place and work in the detail once the regulations were finalised. Obviously it’s not the most straightforward way to manage such a project, but it’s the same situation for all the teams. In the context of reduced costs, we have had to accelerate some phases of development and so it’s important to be able to react quickly and, above all, better than our competitors."