LONDON — Red Bull are hoping Renault’s revamped engine will give them the power to take on champions Mercedes in a new-look Formula One this season.
“It’s a brand new engine this year, a change of philosophy,” team principal Christian Horner said in a pre-season interview conducted by the team. “They (Renault) have had a big winter.
“We’re hoping for a step up in performance and if that’s delivered then hopefully we can really be a challenger team this year and give the Mercedes and Ferraris a hard time.”
Red Bull’s Renault engines, branded as Tag-Heuer, powered the team to two wins last season with Dutch teenager Max Verstappen and Australian Daniel Ricciardo.
They were the only drivers apart from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and now-retired world champion Nico Rosberg to win races in 2016.
The rules have been rewritten this year, with cars expected to lap significantly faster on wider tires.
As with any change to the status quo, Horner saw a development battle stretching out from the start of the season in Australia on March 26 all the way to Abu Dhabi on Nov. 26.
“What excites us most about 2017 is the opportunities that arise from these new regulations. It’s going to be fascinating to see who’s got it right and who’s got it wrong,” said the Briton, whose team were runners-up last year.
“You’ll see big increments early on because the regulations are pretty immature. I think there is going to be low-hanging fruit early on to make sizable steps.
“That’s going to push every department in the whole team to try and outwit, outsmart, outdevelop and outproduce our rivals. That’s going to be a stellar challenge in F1 this year.”
Red Bull will show off their new car on Sunday with testing starting in Barcelona next Monday.
Horner said former champions Red Bull were on schedule, proceeding like a swan while paddling frantically beneath the surface.
“It’s an exciting moment, to see the car break cover,” he said. “People get sucked into who’s doing what times, which fuel loads, who’s doing race runs etcetera...It’s all irrelevant in reality.
“You have to focus on your own program, put the blinkers on, get through your program of work and the developments you want to look at — because it’s all going to change by the time you get to Melbourne anyway.”
Renault will launch their own car in London on Tuesday.
Hamilton has ‘zero problems’ with Bottas
Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton has clarified comments about not wanting to share data with Formula One teammates and says he has “zero problems” with new Mercedes arrival Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton told a Facebook Live session with F1 sponsor UBS last Friday that drivers should do their own “homework” rather than be able to copy a team mate’s racing lines and braking points.
“I go out, do my laps, do all my homework and the other guy can see everything,” said the Briton. “When we’re driving we’re picking out braking points, bumps, tire rubber marks on the track, all these different things to help get you through the corner quickest ... but because of this (shared) data they (team mates) can just copy you. They should be able to go out there on their own and find it all themselves, without you.”
Hamilton’s comments were interpreted by some as Hamilton criticizing Mercedes for insisting on shared data between teammates, but he took to Twitter on Monday to emphasize that was not the case. “I wish to clarify, I have not hit out at my team at all. My point on data sharing is solely my feelings about the sport in general,” said the 32-year-old, who made his debut with McLaren in 2007 alongside double champion Fernando Alonso.
“It has been my feeling since the day I started F1 and still is 10 years later. There is zero problems in my team, zero problems with Bottas.”
Hamilton is favorite to clinch a fourth title this season after losing out last year to team mate Nico Rosberg, who promptly retired. The German, a rival since their teenage years in go-karting, won fewer races than Hamilton (9-10) but enjoyed better reliability.
Hamilton beat Rosberg to the title in the previous two campaigns. The Briton has said it does not matter who his teammate is and spoke warmly of Bottas, who joins from Williams without having won a race so far.
“It is interesting to see how it’s going to go, how quick he will be, how quick he adapts, how he does with pressure ... I would say the most fascinating thing is the mind of my competitors, what limits they’ll go to,” Hamilton said during the Facebook Live session.
“Some people will sell their mum to win a race, sell your soul, and some people will do other things so it’s really interesting to see where Valtteri will go.”
The season starts in Australia on March 26 and Mercedes present their new car at Silverstone on Thursday. — Reuters
