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#435015
Bernie Ecclestone supports Red Bull's push to rein in Mercedes using the regulations.

After Mercedes' dominant display at the Australian Grand Prix, Red Bull boss Christian Horner called for the FIA to step in and equalise the engine manufacturers. Ecclestone agrees and says there is a provision in the regulations to do so.

"They are absolutely 100% right," Ecclestone told Reuters."There is a rule that I think [former president] Max [Mosley] put in when he was there that in the event...that a particular team or engine supplier did something magic - which Mercedes have done - the FIA can level up things.

"They [Mercedes] have done a first class job which everybody acknowledges. We need to change things a little bit now and try and level things up a little bit"

He added: "What we should have done was frozen the Mercedes engine and leave everybody else to do what they want so they could have caught up. We should support the FIA to make changes."

Read more at http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/stor ... I2M3jxo.99
#435019
Let's just make F1 a spec engine series, everyone can have a Mercedes power unit... Bernie saying engine makers should be allowed to equalize their performance with the top engine makes a mockery of the rules, if there are four engine makers with the same spec and performance, then why not make it a spec engine sport.
#435020
Let's just make F1 a spec engine series, everyone can have a Mercedes power unit... Bernie saying engine makers should be allowed to equalize their performance with the top engine makes a mockery of the rules, if there are four engine makers with the same spec and performance, then why not make it a spec engine sport.

We had that before when everybody but Ferrari ran Cosworth engines.
#435021
Let's just make F1 a spec engine series, everyone can have a Mercedes power unit... Bernie saying engine makers should be allowed to equalize their performance with the top engine makes a mockery of the rules, if there are four engine makers with the same spec and performance, then why not make it a spec engine sport.

We had that before when everybody but Ferrari ran Cosworth engines.

Really, I don't remember that, when was that?
#435022
Let's just make F1 a spec engine series, everyone can have a Mercedes power unit... Bernie saying engine makers should be allowed to equalize their performance with the top engine makes a mockery of the rules, if there are four engine makers with the same spec and performance, then why not make it a spec engine sport.

We had that before when everybody but Ferrari ran Cosworth engines.

Really, I don't remember that, when was that?

Late 60's to late 70's when the DFV 3.0 V8 was the engine to have in your car before the turbo era ended Cosworth's reign.
#435023
Let's just make F1 a spec engine series, everyone can have a Mercedes power unit... Bernie saying engine makers should be allowed to equalize their performance with the top engine makes a mockery of the rules, if there are four engine makers with the same spec and performance, then why not make it a spec engine sport.

We had that before when everybody but Ferrari ran Cosworth engines.

Really, I don't remember that, when was that?

Late 60's to late 70's when the DFV 3.0 V8 was the engine to have in your car before the turbo era ended Cosworth's reign.

That'll be why I don't remember it, you're showing your age there DD! :twisted:
#435024
Let's just make F1 a spec engine series, everyone can have a Mercedes power unit... Bernie saying engine makers should be allowed to equalize their performance with the top engine makes a mockery of the rules, if there are four engine makers with the same spec and performance, then why not make it a spec engine sport.

We had that before when everybody but Ferrari ran Cosworth engines.

Really, I don't remember that, when was that?

Late 60's to late 70's when the DFV 3.0 V8 was the engine to have in your car before the turbo era ended Cosworth's reign.

That'll be why I don't remember it, you're showing your age there DD! :twisted:

Or it could be early onset Alzheimer's on your part :P
#435397
[youtube]OfDQkCHpvlg[/youtube]

Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul has responded angrily to Adrian Newey's suggestion that the engine is the only thing holding Red Bull back in 2015.

Red Bull endured a difficult start to the season and after the Australian Grand Prix it was revealed Renault had a 100bhp deficit to Mercedes. Technical guru Newey said during the weekend there was no light at the end of the tunnel with Red Bull's engine supplier, suggesting the power unit had "all sorts of failings".

But Renault's Abiteboul has hit back at this remark, stating Red Bull deserves as much of the blame as Renault.

"Yes, it's difficult to have a partner who lies," Abiteboul told Auto Hebdo when asked if Newey's comments were hard to hear. "Adrian is a charming man and an engineer without parallel, but he's spent his life criticising engine partners. He's too old to change his ways."

In a Renault press release issued on Tuesday, Abiteboul elaborated on how both sides of the partnership were at fault.

"We need to work together to understand our issues, both within the power unit and the chassis. Our figures have shown that the lap time deficit between Red Bull and Mercedes in Melbourne was equally split between driveability issues, engine performance and chassis performance. It's therefore the overall package that needs some help and we have been working with the team to move forward.

"We've been particularly aggressive in development and we should see the results a lot more clearly in Malaysia, particularly since we have had the opportunity to refine the PU using the data from Australia. Work is still ongoing but even now we are in a completely different place to where we finished Melbourne."

Read more at http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport ... y8frSJZ.99
#435401
Handbags at the ready, though the article doesn't say where Newey was blaming only the engine, only that the engine has all sorts of failings which renault don't deny so is there something else he's said that renault are responding to?
#435402
Handbags at the ready, though the article doesn't say where Newey was blaming only the engine, only that the engine has all sorts of failings which renault don't deny so is there something else he's said that renault are responding to?

Here's what he said 10 days ago:
Red Bull's Adrian Newey says there is no light at the end of the tunnel for Renault as the engine manufacturer starts another season on the back foot compared to its rivals.

Renault had a 10% power deficit to Mercedes last year and has shown few signs of significantly reducing that this year while still struggling with reliability. Daniel Ricciardo has already experienced one engine failure this weekend in Australia and Newey cannot see things changing any time soon.

"It's very frustrating that we've been pushed into a position where we've got an engine which is quite a long way behind, with all sorts of failings, and with no obvious light at the end of the tunnel," he was quoted by the Guardian. "You can say: 'Okay, Mercedes have done such a good job, Ferrari are now doing a better job and Renault haven't got it together.' But at the same time I think the FIA needs to be a bit more active rather than being completely passive and saying: 'Well, that's not our problem.' They can't just give up - there has to be some governance."

Renault is focusing all of its attention on the two Red Bull-owned teams this year, but Newey claims the working relationship is still far from perfect.

"It's one thing being in the position where you're not competitive but you can see your way out of it. It's another thing when you're not competitive and your partner doesn't seem to be willing to engage.

"I honestly don't know the reason for it. It seems to be: 'Yes, we hear you say', talk. In pre-season testing, we had 12 days and a filming day in which I think we had six major failures. So our mileage was very restrictive through engine problems and as measured by the torque sensor through those tests, the power we have is exactly the same as last year."

Read more at http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport ... I70k8ux.99
#435403
I dont see what's wrong with that and think Renault have taken it the wrong way. I see it that the chassis issues are something that can be solved whereas it's not apparent what can be done engine wise.
#435485
Relationships

March 25, 2015 by Joe Saward

A good relationship is based on trust and so the stories suggesting that Renault is accusing Red Bull’s Adrian Newey of lying is a pretty good illustration of where that relationship is currently headed. Or to put it another way. This is a disaster. Considering that the two parties shared four consecutive World Championships between 2010 and 2013, one has to say that this smacks of fair weather friends turning on one another when the storm clouds gather. And I’m not sure I see how they are going to live happily ever after again.

Renault is working hard on its engine but seems to be planning a future with its own team to get more coverage. At the same time Red Bull is rumoured to be working with Ilmor Engineering to try to improve the existing Renault power units. It all sounds like a divorce in the making with Red Bull heading off to pastures new. But where? And how? The only way one can see the team getting a new manufacturer engine deal at the moment would be to build an engine itself and then convince a car company to badge it, a trick that Roger Penske pulled off years ago with the original Ilmor when he wanted to get GM into IndyCar racing with the Chevrolet brand. Give a car company a cheap deal to get into F1 and you may end up with a suitable partner, willing to pay in the future. It will be interesting to watch…


No sh!t!
#435488
Red Bull a step closer to building engines
March 25, 2015 · by thejudge13

For those of you who live near Milton Keynes, a trip to the Red Bull factory estate in Tilbrook may provide some interest. Red bull have acquired a sizeable factory unit adjacent to their current premises, and for the past few months construction workers have been adding a couple of extra floors to the property.

Nothing strange there you may say, except for the fact that the floors are underground. A sizeable excavation akin to a giant archaeological dig has been taking place as the ground workers break up the huge concrete base on which the factory was built and extract hundreds of tons of the soil from beneath.

The word put out amongst the Red Bull employees, is that these endeavours are related to a rather large boat project.

It does though appear that Red Bull are pressing forward on many fronts. Despite recent petulant threats to quit Formula One, quite the reverse appears to be occurring behind the scenes.

AMuS have reported that Red Bull have recently ordered that the Renault engines be tested on a Virtual Test Track at the AVL facility in Graz.

Que? May well be your response.

Well, a virtual test track is a real-time vehicle simulator used for powertrain and chassis system development in a virtual environment.

“The VTT is designed and built based on the rapid control prototyping (RCP) concept. Therefore, different from the conventional vehicle simulator, the VTT can provide many additional benefits, such as ease of use, flexibility of interface with other devices, and ability to easily implement any hardware-in-the-loop system. The VTT consists of a powerful simulation engine to solve the equations of a complicated vehicle dynamics model in real-time and a sophisticated animation engine to provide real-time visual representation of vehicle behaviour. It also contains multiple virtual test environments with variable surfaces and weather conditions to provide different types of driving conditions”. (IEEE Explore)

This kind of highly complex modelling system is the engineering equivalent to an aerodynamicists’ CFD and wind tunnel combined. In the new Formula One, clearly the emphasis has shifted and now the mechanical combination of a chassis and engine in harmony is the key to success on track.

TJ13 has been informed that Red Bull are planning a facility like this of their own.

Whilst at present Red Bull and Renault feel they are forced together in a marriage of inconvenience, it is strange Red Bull is the one considering commissioning this kind of system – because this piece of kit is more likely to be found in the factory of a road car manufacturer and engine builder.

What is clear is that Renault are no longer prepared to be the whipping boys of the F1 partnership between themselves and Red Bull. Cyril Abiteboul has now upped the ante accusing Red Bull of lying and of refusing to accept their RB11 is contributing to the current problems.

In true boxing rhetoric, Cyril Abiteboul tweeted the following before he left for Sepang.

The gloves are off.


:scratchchin:
#435978
Inautonews:

Apr.2 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Dr Helmut Marko has admitted for the first time that Red Bull has issues that run deeper than the Renault engine.

A furious row between Red Bull and Renault erupted in and after Australia, with Cyril Abiteboul even accusing Adrian Newey of telling “lies”.

The chief “lie”, according to the Frenchman, was that Renault was solely to blame for Red Bull’s struggles in 2015.

After Malaysia, where Red Bull admitted Renault made progress, team official Marko now admits that Milton-Keynes also has work to do.

“The result of Sepang was unfortunate for Red Bull Racing,” he told the Austrian broadcaster Servus TV, “but it does not hurt because there is the need to wake up in England.

“There are some things in the chassis that do not work optimally,” Marko added.

One of them in Malaysia was the brakes, with Red Bull having switched suppliers at the end of last year to a brand not liked by departing driver Sebastian Vettel.

Marko announced that Red Bull will now “reverse” that decision.

For Daniil Kvyat, the fact Red Bull’s problems run deeper than Renault is starkly obvious, having stepped up from the junior team Toro Rosso over the winter.

But in Malaysia, the young Russian finished behind both of his Toro Rosso successors, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.

“General pace is not there at the moment,” Kvyat admits. “This is not a good situation.”

And compounding the misery for teammate Daniel Ricciardo in Malaysia was the fact that the man he roundly defeated in 2014, now Ferrari driver Vettel, won the race.

Not only that, Ricciardo was lapped by the red car.

“I’m happy for him and that he has done what I think a lot of people thought he couldn’t do,” said the Australian. “But it emphasises the frustration for us.”
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