http://www.racer.com/index.php/f1/item/ ... full-power
I don't think this is the first time Renault have said that the teams can now run with full power...
But this is the first time I've heard them say that their "main problem" was controlling engine knock. Maybe the "knock" they're referring to is the bits of driveshaft rattling around...Renault's Formula 1 teams have been given the all-clear to run their engines at full power in the Australian Grand Prix this weekend.
The French car manufacturer's power units have had to run in a de-tuned specification so far to ensure reliability amid the teething troubles it suffered in pre-season testing. But with software modifications to address its problems having delivered improvements on the dyno since the last test in Bahrain, Renault is now confident enough about the state of its equipment to allow its engines to run unleashed.
I hadn't heard this before, but it makes sense..."The main issues we had with power units was due to the nature of how we control the engine and the boost pressure, and how we manage knock, basically – which is the step to gain some more performance from this kind of engine," he said.
I suspect we'll see some Renault powered cars qualifying well, then getting left behind either at the start or in the early laps.There have been suggestions that the Renault-engined cars might not be able to complete proper race starts because of the pre-season problems, but Taffin is confident all the French manufacturer's cars will be able to take off from the grid in Melbourne.
"We will be OK to do some starts [from the grid]," he confirmed. "We've seen some good [practice] ones [in testing], it's consistency we need.
"If you look back at the start of the V8s, you had some very bad starts from some of the teams at the start of the year, so bad starts are related to the car system itself, which the power unit is part of.
"There are plenty of configurations. Eventually, we will find one that works."
