Abu Dhabi 2014 - GP Preview - Renault Sport F1

Team quotes

By Franck Drui

18 November 2014 - 15:01
Abu Dhabi 2014 - GP Preview - Renault

REMI TAFFIN, RENAULT SPORT F1 HEAD OF TRACK OPERATIONS

After a long and tough season we’ve finally reached the concluding race of 2014. Abu Dhabi is a fantastic place to end the year, with state-of-the-art facilities, a warm welcome, and a challenging circuit. It’s somewhat similar to Melbourne in terms of track characteristics, which will give us a representative comparison and show how far we’ve come over the course of the year.

For example, the long back straight will demonstrate what we have learnt about energy release and recovery. In Melbourne we were asking drivers to lift at the end of the straights to save fuel and battery power; having improved PU efficiency, we can recover enough through the MGU-K and MGU-H to avoid this. Effectively, the driver is flat throughout the lap.

The introduction of turbocharged V6 engines represented a big step into the unknown. Although Renault Sport F1 has a fantastic history with this kind of engine architecture, the new technologies enabling us to harvest energy produced by the electric motors on the turbo and the crankshaft (the old KERS system) presented a very different challenge.

The art of developing mechanical architecture is the foundation of an F1 Power Unit and a known strength of Viry-Chatillon. However, we have had to quickly learn how to improve the reliability of other PU components that we’ve taken onboard this year, such as the Energy Store and e-Turbo.

Having put almost 90,000 racing kilometres on the PU and seen its operation in a competitive environment, we’ve been able to iron out a lot of the teething problems that are encountered when introducing a brand new engine. This has allowed us to better manage reliability and modify certain components to make them more robust. The chassis teams have also been able to learn a great deal about the integration of such a PU, especially when it comes to cooling.

Another major step has stemmed from improvements made to the engine and energy management control, and to the base engine calibration. This has improved drivability and the efficiency of energy recovery/release, allowing maximum power output for a longer period on straights.

On a different note, we are very pleased to see that Caterham F1 Team will be competing at this weekend’s race following their recent difficulties. Hopefully this will allow them to regroup over the winter and return stronger in 2015.

NEWS FROM TOTAL

Over the course of a Formula One season, Renault Sport F1 and their four teams use around 150m3 of F1 Total fuel. A third of this is consumed on-track during FIA-sanctioned test sessions and grand prix weekends, while the remainder is used on dynos by Renault Sport F1 and its technical service provider Mecachrome. To put this into perspective, the annual F1 Total fuel consumption of a Renault Sport F1 team matches the average amount used at a French highway petrol station over 2.4 days.

RENAULT ENERGY F1-2014 FAST FACTS

The long straight between turns seven and eight is nearly 1.2km and the Power Unit will be at full throttle for 14secs, reaching speeds of over 310kph.

The third part of the track from turn 11 through to the final turn 21 mainly features right-hand corners that are taken in second or third gear. The average speed through this section is just under 160kph, so we need the PUs to give good driveability while being responsive for the short bursts of power between turns. This section allows the MGU-K and H to recover enough energy to recharge the battery for the rest of the lap.

Fuel consumption is among the highest of the year per lap due to the stop-start nature of the final sector.

The heat and lack of humidity in Abu Dhabi can cause the very destructive ‘knocking’ phenomenon which sometimes occurs in turbocharged engines. Also known as ‘detonation’, this is the abnormal combustion of the fuel and air mix. The term ‘knock’ comes from the noise created by the increased cylinder pressure, which in turn causes the piston, connecting rod and bearings to resonate. We can control this by looking at ignition and fuel injection timing.

As the last race of the season, regulations permit all parts previously confined to parc fermé to be reused. With the additional knowledge of the Power Units we may now be able to recycle some parts, within the confines of the allowed parameters.

This race famously offers double points. It is thus important to use parts to their absolute limit, particularly since we know they will not have to be utilised again this year.

Since its inception in 2009, the event has proven extremely successful for Renault-powered cars. Sebastian Vettel won the inaugural race using the RS27 2.4 V8 and added another triumph 12 months later to secure his first world title. Kimi Raikkonen claimed victory in 2012 before Vettel took his third win at the circuit – and Renault’s fourth from five attempts – last season.

For the same power output as 2013 we now use 60kg less fuel per race and are roughly 35% more efficient than with V8 engines.

We recover up to 6 MJ of energy per lap between our e-Turbo and kinetic energy recovery systems. In total, we have regained over 15 million kJ of energy per team during 2014.

Through Power Unit control development and fuel specification, we will have increased our efficiency by more than 5% between Australia and Abu Dhabi.

Ahead of the season finale, the Renault-powered driver who has covered the greatest distance is Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat with a total of 13,188km. That puts him third overall for 2014 behind first-placed Kevin Magnussen and Nico Rosberg in second. The Renault engine with the highest mileage belongs to Lotus F1 Team and has racked up 3,944km.

Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo has achieved the highest top speed for a Renault-powered driver this season. The three-time race winner was clocked at 362kph (with DRS and a tow) while overtaking during the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Search

Formula 1 news

Pics

Videos