Renault "there or thereabouts" with Ferrari - Bell

  • Published on 18 Feb 2017 15:47
  • comments 0
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Renault believe that their 2017 engine power is "there or thereabouts" with Ferrari, as the French manufacturer looks to close down their rivals.

Renault struggled to produce a competitive power unit in 2014 when the V6 hybrid era was introduced. Their struggles continued into 2015 but in 2016 they made some gains on Ferrari.

Chief technical officer of Renault Bob Bell says that they are still behind Mercedes and possibly only slightly behind Ferrari.

"It's certainly behind Mercedes, there or thereabouts with Ferrari, maybe slightly off but not by much," he said. "Renault has closed the gap to Mercedes. You only have to look at Red Bull's performance last year, they've been able to take the fight to Mercedes on many occasions. If nothing else that indicates not only a very good chassis but the engine has moved on a lot."

Bell thinks they need to make big strides for the 2017 season, but admits it may not be until 2018 that the gap to Mercedes is completely closed.

"We have to close that gap and we'll make another step over winter," he said. "But whether that will see complete closure or not, you just can't tell. There's no way of knowing. We believe we can, given time. It might possibly not be this winter but certainly by the end of next year and into 2018, we ought to be right on it."

Bell went on to praise the personnel at Renault who have worked tirelessly to try and produce a competitive power unit.

"It is massively impressive what they've achieved because they really set out with the mandate to make sure at the very least the engine was absolutely rock solid in terms of reliability and they've 100% achieved that," he said.

"It was probably the most reliable engine on the grid last year and that's a huge credit to them but that hasn't stopped them putting a lot of performance in the engine.

"It's taken some big steps and the great thing is that they did deliver what they said they would in an engine upgrade, and that's not always an easy thing to achieve."

 

Fergal Walsh

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule
show sidebar