Renault happy to keep supplying Red Bull with engines

After a fruitful year of supplying engines to Red Bull, the ING Renault F1 Team’s engine supremo, Rob White, looks ahead to the second year of having a Renault engine slotted into the back of a Red Bull Racing chassis.

Rob White: “In 2007, we clearly achieved what we set out to do, and this year we continue to supply Red Bull Racing the same engine as the factory team and operate it in the same way. In 2008, we can take advantage of the fact that engine installation in the chassis is more or less carried over and we can correct some elements that, with hindsight, we would have handled differently. In terms of track operations, there will be a significant difference this year because of the new rules regarding electronics.

“The most obvious change is that everyone must run a new and standardised Electronic Control Unit, but it also significantly affects the environment for working on engine and chassis systems. The change in the rules regarding driver aids, specifically engine braking and traction control, means we will need to work with new tools.

“Supplying Red Bull Racing as well as running the factory team means we can make use of the fact that we have engine data to work on from two teams, thus giving us an improved flow of information. Therefore for 2008, in terms of what is permitted by the very restrictive new rules, it should enable us to progress that little bit faster.”