Renault Power Unit Hardware & Software

[PowerandtheGlory]

Guys, don’t Mclaren have their own MGU-K? Or do they use’s Renault’s? Or is it that Mclaren technologies use their own battery pack and a Renault use a different supplier of batteries? Might explain the mclaren failure? Retiring Ric was probably to save all parts on the car as there was nothing to gain from running where they were?

[Jambier]

RIC DNF is because of the damaged bodywork.

The super-dyno is only operational since mid February so it came a bit too late for the new PU. So the spec b and the following specs should be the first PUs to really benefit from it.

Regarding power gains, all the Renault-powered cars have interestingly gained 10-11km/h here compared to 2018 qualy. (while STR gains 7-8kmh and RB 5-6) But Hulk had an electric problem in Q2 (a chassis one according to Permane)

Regarding winter testing, Mclaren has probably used two engines. So the first one has probably ran atleast the distance of 5 Spanish gp races and the second 8 races.*
The first Renault engine should have done around 5 races while the two others 9,5 races together (but in which ratio?)...
Some of those engines were experimental.
*the first one ran for the first two days, as planned.
And AFAIR Renault did a similar thing in 2016 and one of the PU covered the distance of 8 races (not gps)
And I dont think it's necessary to do 7 grand prix with a PU if the track/dyno/super-dyno datas are reliable.
The super-dyno is very new so they probably built special PUs with special features and extra sensors to work on the calibration and the correlation.
In 2016 too Renault had to work with new dynos to them; the Illmor ones.

Interesting.

Honestly I'm not worried at all regarding engine. They don't have Red Bull pressure on them, the new dyno is just begining.

I'm confident they can work peacefully and deliver an engine close to the best.
Issues are on chassis' side..

[SmallSoldier]

It’s a little bit discouraging to start the season with a PU failure (MGU-K)... Hoping that they got that out of the way and if it had to happened, it was in a race where the result wasn’t expected to be good... Still wondering how both teams (Renault and Mclaren) will perform in a more traditional circuit and in the fast ones as China.


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[Jambier]

It’s a little bit discouraging to start the season with a PU failure (MGU-K)... Hoping that they got that out of the way and if it had to happened, it was in a race where the result wasn’t expected to be good... Still wondering how both teams (Renault and Mclaren) will perform in a more traditional circuit and in the fast ones as China.


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It will be interesting to see.

But top speed were goods in testing.

Also you have to keep in mind that bad chassis, with bad traction, always have a bad top speed nowadays.
So it will be once again difficult to juge Renault engine.

They also just have their new dynamic dyno, so I think they will unlock more power this year.

[SmallSoldier]

It’s a little bit discouraging to start the season with a PU failure (MGU-K)... Hoping that they got that out of the way and if it had to happened, it was in a race where the result wasn’t expected to be good... Still wondering how both teams (Renault and Mclaren) will perform in a more traditional circuit and in the fast ones as China.


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It will be interesting to see.

But top speed were goods in testing.

Also you have to keep in mind that bad chassis, with bad traction, always have a bad top speed nowadays.
So it will be once again difficult to juge Renault engine.

They also just have their new dynamic dyno, so I think they will unlock more power this year.

I have a similar expectation, that Spec B this year might be a good step forward... Both McLaren and Renault seem to still be fighting balance issues in their cars and as you said, that might be masking some of the PU improvements


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[PowerandtheGlory]

Reported elsewhere on these forums that Renault did not use Quali mode in Australia at all due to cooling issues? Did anybody spot the drivers switching modes at all in Q2? I seem to remember somebody posting how the Renault engined teams didn't improve between sessions which seems to validate this theory... apparently HAAS the same maybe Ferrari as well. Could shuffle things up in Bahrain.

[SmallSoldier]

Reported elsewhere on these forums that Renault did not use Quali mode in Australia at all due to cooling issues? Did anybody spot the drivers switching modes at all in Q2? I seem to remember somebody posting how the Renault engined teams didn't improve between sessions which seems to validate this theory... apparently HAAS the same maybe Ferrari as well. Could shuffle things up in Bahrain.

That’s speculation derived from comments from Cyril saying that Hulk had a drop in performance in Q2... I don’t think it means that they used Quali mode, but if cooling was an issue, it would have had an effect on performance.


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[Ground Effect]

Reported elsewhere on these forums that Renault did not use Quali mode in Australia at all due to cooling issues? Did anybody spot the drivers switching modes at all in Q2? I seem to remember somebody posting how the Renault engined teams didn't improve between sessions which seems to validate this theory... apparently HAAS the same maybe Ferrari as well. Could shuffle things up in Bahrain.

That’s speculation derived from comments from Cyril saying that Hulk had a drop in performance in Q2... I don’t think it means that they used Quali mode, but if cooling was an issue, it would have had an effect on performance.


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I think I heard somewhere shortly after qualifying that Nico had an "electronics" issue, don't know what the interpretation of that is.
Cyril also mentioned during their Bahrain Grand Prix preview that they need to show the improvements they've made on the engine side, suggesting that they have more than they showed in Melbourne?

[PowerandtheGlory]

Reported elsewhere on these forums that Renault did not use Quali mode in Australia at all due to cooling issues? Did anybody spot the drivers switching modes at all in Q2? I seem to remember somebody posting how the Renault engined teams didn't improve between sessions which seems to validate this theory... apparently HAAS the same maybe Ferrari as well. Could shuffle things up in Bahrain.

That’s speculation derived from comments from Cyril saying that Hulk had a drop in performance in Q2... I don’t think it means that they used Quali mode, but if cooling was an issue, it would have had an effect on performance.


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I think I heard somewhere shortly after qualifying that Nico had an "electronics" issue, don't know what the interpretation of that is.
Cyril also mentioned during their Bahrain Grand Prix preview that they need to show the improvements they've made on the engine side, suggesting that they have more than they showed in Melbourne?

I think we all expected a 'little' bit more from Renault in Q2 and im sure i read a post saying that the times from Q1 to Q2 that the Renault cars didn't improve their times by very much- either suggesting
a) the runs weren't clean
b) they couldn't use party mode in Q2
c) they were already using party mode in Q1 and Q2 hence there was no extra 'step'
d) they had electrical issues that affected them

Im inclined to agree that the electrical issues go right back to testing where Hulk confirmed they were clipping, and Sainz admitted something similar in other words about the MGU - so maybe we haven't seen the full beans out of the engine. Cyril then says they must showcase the engine improvements this weekend, suggesting they are maybe ready to deploy full power modes & maybe they have overcome the MGU issues reported.

[GhostF1]

https://www.pitpass.com/64197/Second-MGU-K-for-Sainz

"Hopefully they have been looking at it for the past few days and they have found out," he said, "hopefully, the cause of the issue so we can put some solutions in place for this race.

"If they work or not we will wait and see," he continued, "but it is true we have had a couple of failures during testing so it is a weak point of the car and we need to keep working on it to make sure we don't throw any more points because we threw a couple of them away in Australia."

Looks like the MGU-K still has a fundamental issue and this is the first report admitting to testing issues, Renault has been dodging saying it was just testing different specs..

[Jambier]

In its last interview with L'equipe Abiteboul said that they have this MGU issue since testing.

And they have developped a fix... The fix was given to McLaren because of AUS failure.
Renault works team didn't had it in Barhain

So that may explain the issue, on the other hand, there is no way to be sure that the fix will be reliable.
Let's see in the next races

[rebel]

In its last interview with L'equipe Abiteboul said that they have this MGU issue since testing.

And they have developped a fix... The fix was given to McLaren because of AUS failure.
Renault works team didn't had it in Barhain

So that may explain the issue, on the other hand, there is no way to be sure that the fix will be reliable.
Let's see in the next races

Putting the words of Abiteboul throug a translator it roughly says:

We've got another MGU-K prototype and don't have a clue if we solved the problem. So we let Sainz be the guinea pig and test this new prototype and wrap it in some beautiful words....

[f1rules]

for what its worth

Albert Fabrega
@AlbertFabrega
6m6 minutes ago
More
Diferentes mediciones en pit y paddock en cuanto a potencia d motores. Todas coinciden en Ferrari claramente delante d Mercedes, pero no atrás. La q me ha llegado da a Honda más potencia q Renault en carrera y menos en quali. Otra da a Renault por delante en ambos. Muy igualados.

Translated from Spanish by Microsoft
Different measurements in pit and paddock in terms of power D motors. All match in Ferrari clearly ahead D Mercedes, but not back. The Q has reached me gives Honda more power Q Renault in Carrera and less in quali. Another gives Renault ahead in both. Very equal.

[Ground Effect]

for what its worth

Albert Fabrega
@AlbertFabrega
6m6 minutes ago
More
Diferentes mediciones en pit y paddock en cuanto a potencia d motores. Todas coinciden en Ferrari claramente delante d Mercedes, pero no atrás. La q me ha llegado da a Honda más potencia q Renault en carrera y menos en quali. Otra da a Renault por delante en ambos. Muy igualados.

Translated from Spanish by Microsoft
Different measurements in pit and paddock in terms of power D motors. All match in Ferrari clearly ahead D Mercedes, but not back. The Q has reached me gives Honda more power Q Renault in Carrera and less in quali. Another gives Renault ahead in both. Very equal.

I see Fabrega referenced from time to time on this forum, but can't say I know much about him. Does his info usually paint an accurate picture, is he a reliable source?

[_cerber1]

I still do not understand what he means by comparing Honda and Renault. Translation from Spanish is not very accurate.