Red Bull struck with alternator conundrum

Red Bull’s alternator issues returned during the United States Grand Prix weekend, after the Milton Keynes-based outfit elected to remain with the old-spec Renault alternator. Since a disastrous weekend in Monza back in September, where Sebastian Vettel was struck twice by alternator issues, Red Bull have fallen back on their old spec.

However, with supply of the old spec alternator running low, Renault introduced the new-spec alternator to other teams on the grid at the United States Grand Prix. However, Red Bull insisted on sticking with the old-spec component for the race. Whilst Red Bull returned to their dominant ways whilst using the old version, Renault have been updating the troublesome newer-spec. To make sure such alternator issues did not return to plague the Austrian team, Renault carried out numerous tests on the component.

Despite Renault’s recent updates to the new-spec alternator, Red Bull chose to remain using the old spec, however their mechanical gremlins returned on Lap 17 of the United States Grand Prix when Mark Webber initially lost KERS and then suffered an alternator issue. This was the Australian driver’s first retirement due to issues on the car since the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix, when brake issues forced him into retirement. Mark Webber and the team are understandably worried with regards to the recurring alternator issue, with the all-important season finale next weekend at Brazil

"It is just a worry, full stop," explained Christian Horner. "Unfortunately it is the third alternator [failure in a race] that we have had, and obviously there have been other failures in other cars. We need to get it back to look in to it. I think the new version has raced on other engine cycles [at other teams], so hopefully that is what we will have for Brazil."

However, Red Bull will bid the old-spec alternator farewell for this weekend’s grand finale around Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit. Since the newly-crowned Constructors’ Champions refused to use the newer-spec at Austin, the team will be hoping that the updated component will be fully reliable as Sebastian Vettel strives to secure his third Drivers’ Championship. Renault’s head of trackside engineering, Remi Taffin, explained that Red Bull’s decision in Austin was simply a case of going with what they knew, rather than taking a leap into the unknown with the updated alternator.

"Because they are human beings and at some point as humans they have some feelings.” Explained Remi Taffin to Autosport after the United States Grand Prix. “It was a common decision, so we put everything on the table and we decided altogether we should go that way. We had everything to fit either the old or new design. But the feeling was generally that there is some sense to keep on using something that we have known for years with low mileage and stuff like that, even if we had a new solution that we knew had gone through all the tests.”

Red Bull will therefore be hoping that the updated design of Renault’s alternator proves to be reliable next weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Interlagos circuit has proven in the past to produce many mechanical issues on the car, largely due to high altitude of the circuit and the fact that it is the final race of the season, when cars and components tend to be nearing the end of their working life. Red Bull will be hoping this is not the case this season, as they strive to secure the Drivers’ Championship with Sebastian Vettel.

Follow me on Twitter - @AndyYoungF1