Renault have dismissed claims that Mercedes split turbocharger solution has led to the power unit manufacturer’s dominance so far this season.
It was recently revealed that Mercedes chose to place their air compressor and turbocharger at opposite ends of the engine block, unlike both Ferrari and Renault where the two items are next to one another.
It was claimed this offered massive benefits (see our analysis here).
Renault’s Rob White has however rubbished such claims and says Renault even considered doing the same, but saw no major benefit.
“It’s something that is significantly different,” he said. “But it is not one we have seen as being a game-changing advantage for Mercedes, or indeed a significant handicap for us.
“It’s not like it’s something we didn’t think of, or when we saw it we said: ‘Eureka that would have been a good idea!'”
He added that there isn’t anything wrong with Renault’s V6, but it would take some time to catch up in the development race, but he says they’ve got some “significant” upgrades coming.
“We haven’t got anything in the engine that we think is insurmountable, in time, bearing in mind there are sporting restrictions and the real world development restrictions.
“We’ve got some significant things which are work in progress, and we’ve got some significant things that will be available in the future [over the winter – when the engine freeze is lifted].”
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