Renault and Ilmor will continue to collaborate in 2016

After a disastrous 2015 season, the French engine manufacturer Renault will have to bounce back, especially now that it owns its own factory team after acquiring Lotus.

The collaboration glimpsed in 2015 with Ilmor will therefore continue next year with the goal of implementing the innovations proposed by the British manufacturer, which had not necessarily been applied during the year.

« *We will continue with Ilmor next year! They have brought new ideas to the table, like a different combustion chamber. We will continue this collaboration in 2016, while continuing to develop many things internally.* » confirms Rémi Taffin, the operations director of the French brand.

Progress is therefore expected as early as next season: « With partners of Illmor’s caliber, we can act across a broader spectrum and benefit from their rich experience. We didn’t see all the benefits of this work in 2015 for several reasons. Now that things are under control, we are following the set course. This will be evident in 2016 and beyond. »

Optimism is the order of the day for Renault, which has learned from its past failures to approach the 2016 season in the best possible way: We will try to take things in order to not repeat the same mistakes. In December, the ‘Melbourne’ specification of the 2016 Power Unit will run on the test bench. After the endurance program and calibration, we will be able to start the end of January tests with serenity. The specification for the first race has been finalized, and it seems reliable after several thousand kilometers on the bench. Naturally, there are still details to be sorted out. But these are fine-tuning adjustments, and we are really in a better situation than last year at the same time ». concluded Rémi Taffin.