Q&A with Jean-François Caubet - Williams Renault is back

At the British Grand Prix, Williams F1 formally announced the revival of the partnership with Renault Sport that will see the French engine manufacturer supply its championship-winning engines to the team from 2012.

The original Williams-Renault era ran from 1989 - 1997 and was the most successful period in Formula One for both companies, with five Constructors’ Championships, four Drivers’ Championships, 63 race wins and 79 pole positions in the record books.

With radical innovation, lightning pace and utter domination the hallmarks of the nine-year alliance, hopes are high that those characteristics will again come to the fore as a Williams-Renault returns to the grid next season.

Overseeing Renault’s new role in Formula One as an engine supplier to four teams competing in 2012 - Red Bull Racing, Lotus, Caterham and AT&T Williams - is Jean-François Caubet. Ahead of the 2012 season and with production of the all-new Williams-Renault FW34 under way, we caught up with him for a chat.

How significant for Renault is the partnership with AT&T Williams?

“We’re really pleased to be working with AT&T Williams from 2012. We have an emotional connection with Williams due to the success we had in the 90s, but this partnership is also looking to the future. Having a fourth team consolidates Renault’s repositioning as an engine supplier, while increasing brand visibility and marketing opportunities. We want to use F1 as a shop window for the quality and reliability of the Renault product.”

What are the key performance characteristics of the Renault engine?

“The RS27 is very driveable and responsive, but its packaging also allows the chassis teams to optimise cooling and aerodynamic solutions. We work very closely with our team partners to ensure optimal integration – it’s not about the engine and then the chassis, it’s about making them work as a package. This is one of the greatest strengths of Renault Sport F1.”

How have the two companies been working together to ensure a smooth transition from the team’s previous engine provider?

“After the deal was announced in July we put together a basic team at Viry that could discuss the development of the 2012 car. This engine team has been communicating with the team at Grove on a regular basis to provide data at each stage of the car’s development, and we’ve also had a lot of contact trackside at races. An engine mock-up has already been assembled into a chassis and now we’ll start defining final things like the wiring, radiator placement and so on before running engine-gearbox tests on the dyno just before Christmas. This allows any initial problems to be ironed out so we’re completely ready for the start of the testing season in February.”

What are the major challenges in developing a winning Formula One engine?

“There are three points. First of all you need the right people in the right place, and an open communication between the chassis partner and engine supplier. In these days of frozen engine development the engines are completely optimised for performance so the integration of the engine into the chassis makes an enormous difference. We put a lot of effort into building strong relationships with our partners.

Secondly, you need to be agile enough to react to the wishes of the chassis teams. For example, when Red Bull wanted to pursue the blown floor, we worked on providing solutions to let them do this.

And thirdly, you need to work towards zero faults. You could have the best engine in the world but if it’s not reliable then you’ll never win. We put a lot of effort into achieving 100% reliability.”

What challenge does the new V6 engine formula pose for Renault and for the teams it supplies?

“The new power units for 2014 will be substantially more complex to design and operate than current engines and are going to be a huge challenge to get right. The timing plan is established and the principal milestones agreed. We have reinforced the team to cope with the intense workload and we already have calculation and test programmes underway to establish detailed functional specifications for the Power Unit and its various sub-systems. Our first V6 will be on test mid 2012 and then it will be an intense programme to refine and develop each part of the unit within the permitted envelope.”

How will Renault meet the challenge of supplying engines to four Formula One teams from 2012?

“We’ve already reinforced the teams and taken on new people to give each team exactly the same service. Each team will have six engineers and technicians on race weekends and a dedicated team back at the factory. It’s a question of organisation, but we’ve already established how we will deal with this, both internally and externally in our relationships with each of our partners.”

Renault and Williams have a legendary history together - how far can the renewal of the relationship between the two companies go to returning AT&T Williams to the top step of the podium?

“The Williams-Renault partnership of the 90s remains Renault’s most successful period to date in F1. We won our first title with Williams in 1992 and then had an incredible run of five Constructors’ titles in a row. We’re clearly very proud of this. However we understand that a strong history gives no rights to success in the future so we’re working very hard to set a good foundation that we can build on. We have to be realistic that it won’t happen overnight, but the will is there on both sides.”