2018 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing - Tag Heuer (Renault)

[adrianjordan]

Weren't they all expecting a new PU in Montreal anyway? I thought Renault were bringing their upgraded units to that race??

Also I get confused. Couldn't he swap it anyway, but would have to take a penalty later in the season if he went over his allocation for the whole season? Ie: He'd only have to take a penalty when he takes his 4th MGU-K...

[Benii6]

Weren't they all expecting a new PU in Montreal anyway? I thought Renault were bringing their upgraded units to that race??

Also I get confused. Couldn't he swap it anyway, but would have to take a penalty later in the season if he went over his allocation for the whole season? Ie: He'd only have to take a penalty when he takes his 4th MGU-K...

I think there is a limit of 2 MGU-Ks per year.

[johnny vee]

Only the ES and CE have a limit of 2 for the year without penalty.
MGU-K is 3 for the year...

[Wouter]

Only the ES and CE have a limit of 2 for the year without penalty.
MGU-K is 3 for the year...

From the Formula1 site:

Each driver is permitted to use only three ICE, MGU-H and TC, and only two ES, CE and MGU-K during a championship season and any combination of them may be fitted to a car at any one time. Should a driver use more than that during the course of a season, a grid penalty will be imposed.

[johnny vee]

Thank you Wouter, I stand corrected.

[loner]

congratulations MASSIVE jump coming...
according to Abiteboul Renault will give you half a second from the PU in race trim soon which will make RBR unlock performance from the chassis as well , if this to happen its very possible for RBR to get the 2018 title
i wonder if we can question the reliability of this information source though...

for Canada

Renault:
"It's a small gain in power, although we know we won't be the only one [bringing an engine upgrade].

that mean not before another 8 races for Renault to introduce a nother upgrade...

[adrianjordan]

congratulations MASSIVE jump coming...
according to Abiteboul Renault will give you half a second from the PU in race trim soon which will make RBR unlock performance from the chassis as well , if this to happen its very possible for RBR to get the 2018 title
i wonder if we can question the reliability of this information source though...

for Canada

Renault:
"It's a small gain in power, although we know we won't be the only one [bringing an engine upgrade].

that mean not before another 8 races for Renault to introduce a nother upgrade...

Well that's the problem with only having 3 PU per season.

[loner]

congratulations MASSIVE jump coming...
according to Abiteboul Renault will give you half a second from the PU in race trim soon which will make RBR unlock performance from the chassis as well , if this to happen its very possible for RBR to get the 2018 title
i wonder if we can question the reliability of this information source though...

for Canada

Renault:
"It's a small gain in power, although we know we won't be the only one [bringing an engine upgrade].

that mean not before another 8 races for Renault to introduce a nother upgrade...

Well that's the problem with only having 3 PU per season.

why not Renault approach in R&D ?!!

[adrianjordan]

Doesn't matter what their R&D is like. You can only introduce so many updates in a season with limited PU usage. RBR are potentially in the run for WDC at present, so they're not going to start taking additional penalties for PU changes when they don't have to.

[loner]

Doesn't matter what their R&D is like. You can only introduce so many updates in a season with limited PU usage. RBR are potentially in the run for WDC at present, so they're not going to start taking additional penalties for PU changes when they don't have to.

it does .. if the Canada upgrade was more powerful it would help 3 teams to perform better , you won't be worry about
when to update if you have strong PU already...

[adrianjordan]

Sorry, I don't follow your logic.

If you're in the fight for the championship you are not going to be taking new PU's above your standard allocation with the associated penalties. Therefore the PU supplier will only introduce updates to coincide with when those new units are expected.

[loner]

RBR not winning on merit lets not kid ourselves they are not in the fight for the title .. because Renault don't provide them with top PU due to lack of R&D, same 3 PU per year rule for Mercedes and Ferrari.
Renault say the upcoming upgrade is small this is not 3 PU per year fault.

[ME4ME]

I think the races they have won were very much on merit. Monaco because of the excellent car and China because of great team work with strategy and double-stacking the cars twice in the pit. Red Bull has certainly waisted points though, so if they're a realistic title contender has yet to be seen. It's a long shot for sure, and depends to a great extent on Renaults relative PU performance after the introduction of the upgrade package.

[godlameroso]

On normal tracks Ferrari and Mercedes are still slightly ahead, on aero heavy tracks that require good tire wear because of low traction Red Bull is more than a match. I think however that both Mercedes and Ferrari have more efficient engines than the Renault. The Red Bull has to save fuel more often than Ferrari or Mercedes. They tend to be the faster car towards the end of the race but by then it's too late the other two have better early and mid race pace.

[Phil]

I'm especially curious to see how the intra-team-dynamics continue at RedBull. No doubt, Verstappen is the guy to beat on pure pace, but at the moment he is driving with huge risk for reward, while his team-mate seems to just nail that good balance of getting the most out of himself with little error. Right now, Daniel has more than double the points of Max.

After 6 races:

1: Lewis Hamilton 110
2. Sebastian Vettel 96 (-14)
3. Daniel Ricciardo 72 (-38)
4. Valtteri Bottas 68 (-42)
5. Kimi Raikkonen 60 (-50)
6. Max Verstappen 35 (-75)
...

Considering how consistent both Hamilton and Vettel are running, even if Max were to win the next 3 races could not take the lead in the championship, not even by a long shot, unless you assume both Lewis and Seb failing to score points in all of the next 3 races. That's already a huge gap...

RedBull have gone all out in giving Max a huge long-term contract, while Daniel, the guy who is 3rd in the championship and 37 points ahead of his team-mate, does not. Surely, they will not do team-orders, but you do have to wonder....