Renault will work to reduce the cost of its V6 Turbo

Renault is expected to be the most expensive engine supplier starting in 2014 with the introduction of the 1.6L V6 engine in Formula 1 – 23 million per season compared to 20 for Mercedes, 15 for Ferrari, and around 9 million for the current V8. This higher cost than its rivals has made some teams doubt continuing the partnership with the brand with the diamond – like Williams, for example.

However, Carlos Ghosn, the President of Renault, told Monaco, as cited by Reuters, that the French engine manufacturer was working on reducing costs but that initially, the priority was to offer a high-performance engine to its customers: « There are some concerns about the engine cost, I understand that, but our commitment is to work on reducing these costs. We will first bring performance to the right level, reassure our teams that they will have a very competitive and efficient power unit for 2014, and then gradually, rationalize, simplify, and reduce costs. »

Ghosn did specify, however, that this cost reduction would not be effective for 2014: « We will not lower costs for anyone in 2014. But our commitment is that every year, we will work hard to make the engine more efficient, reduce costs, and try to pass this cost reduction on to our customers. »

The CEO of Renault also reaffirmed that given the costs – announced at around 150 million euros per year – the brand needed at least three customer teams: “We wouldn’t be surprised if a third [team] arrived soon. We could have more but we don’t need them. It’s more a question of opportunity than necessity. But in terms of necessity, we need three [teams].”