Renault expects the C-Spec engine that it plans to introduce at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix to be worth three-tenths of a second per lap in qualifying trim.
Renault has struggled to match rivals Mercedes and Ferrari this season, having lagged behind the former throughout the Formula 1 hybrid era that began in 2014.
Renault introduced its B-Spec engine in Canada and its C-Spec is now ready, though only Red Bull intends to use the upgraded components at Monza this weekend.
That is because Red Bull occupies a lonely third in the Constructors’ Championship, while Renault and McLaren are both under pressure from rivals.
Red Bull is set to accept the penalties at a circuit where it does not expect to challenge for victories, in order to maximise its potential at upcoming more suitable venues, predominantly Singapore.
Renault stressed that it is not entirely convinced by the reliability of its updated specification, though is optimistic over the potential performance gains.
“Red Bull Racing will use the C-Spec right from the free practices at Monza because they are in a position to prioritise performance without having to worry about those behind them in the championship,” confirmed Renault engine chief Remi Taffin.
“For our part and McLaren, we will not be using this specification, because reliability and consistency are the essential assets to reach our end-of-season goals.
“The C-Spec is an evolution of the current B-Spec engine. It’s significantly more powerful.
“Conversely, it’s possibly not as reliable as the current generation, hence the different choices made by each team.
“Depending on fuel used, the power gain is in the order of 0.3s per lap in qualifying on a circuit like Monza, which is a substantial step forward.”
Taffin expressed confidence at the rate of Renault’s development through 2018 but conceded that “significant performance steps” are needed into next year.
“Overall, we are still suffering from a general power deficit, but we have improved at the same pace as our competitors,” he said.
“This is encouraging, but clearly not enough, because our objective is to catch up and surpass them as fast as possible.
“We need to bring more significant performance steps next year and this is being readied now.
“Next year’s engine is already on our dynos and the first results are promising.
“For 2019, larger human and financial resources than this year have already been allocated to allow us to continue our improvement at a faster pace.”
