The Monza/Spa tandem is our major challenge of the year - Taffin

Heikki Kovalainen's engineer, Rémi Taffin, confirms that the Italian Grand Prix Monza will be the toughest test for the engine this season once again! And this also as next week the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps is scheduled.

"It’s a real engine circuit, that’s the big difference. More is demanded of it here than on any other world championship circuit. The V8 is under full load 77% of the time over a lap. I’d even go so far as to say that Monza is 50% harder on the engine than any other track. That’s why it is always used to validate the engines on the bench with Spa, which is the other complicated circuit for us, thrown in. So the Monza/Spa tandem is our major challenge of the year."

"In absolute terms, yes. The 2007 V8 is mostly derived from the 2006 engine but with 1000 revs less. But it has to be remembered that many of the engine’s components are sensitive not only to speed but also to other factors. So, reliability is still a problem."

"Not in terms of maximum revs. There, everybody’s on a more or less equal footing. But again it’s no use concentrating on this factor alone. A more powerful engine will still make the difference; its rev band will come into play."