Rémi Taffin answers questions

Rémi Taffin, the head of Renault’s engine operations, takes the time to answer questions and provides an update on the progress made by the French engine manufacturer this season.

Certainly, the diamond-badge V8 faced numerous criticisms last season, but in 2010 everything is different. Renault has undergone a makeover and with its engine client, the Red Bull team, which is on a roll, there’s no longer any question of criticizing an engine that just achieved a triple win on Monegasque soil.

Question: How does it feel at Renault in 2010 after a very difficult year in 2009?

Remi Taffin: From a work approach perspective, we really haven’t changed our method compared to last year, the only thing we’ve really changed is the way we operate the car and the work we do at the factory. Our goal is that whether we work on the engine, the chassis, the gearbox, or anything else, we must ensure that we get 100% of what our factories have been able to achieve.

On the track, our main objective is to have all the parts available, which is sometimes quite challenging because we are constantly developing the car in all areas and we try to have new parts available for each race, which is one of the major difficulties we have to face.

Another part is trying to get the most out of the car. We have the chassis in Enstone, and the engine’s gearbox is developed and tested in France at Viry-Chatillon. At each race, we have 40 or 50 people working together to ensure that the engine, chassis, and gearbox work as best as possible.

I must say that, since the beginning of the year, we have done a good job. We don’t have the fastest car, but in every race we give it our 100%. The outlook is now clearer, we’re not that bad.

We saw some teams in Barcelona bring significant improvements to their cars; our philosophy is to develop the car at each race. We don’t aim to say: “Okay, by the 8th race, we will gain a second on the car.” We try to make small improvements at each race, because it’s clear that we have some faster cars ahead of us, but we’re working to close the gap with them by the end of the year.

Do you think the Renault engine lacks overall power, but makes up for it in other areas? How do you evaluate the engine?

Remi Taffin: I must say that it’s always very difficult to assess the overall power level of the engine. We don’t have the best power level, but you have to look at the whole picture, how you’ve configured the engine in the car, how you can develop the engine in the car or the car around the engine. So, I have to say that overall, maybe we’re not as bad as you hear some people say. I am very happy with this engine.

Question. A theory about Red Bull Racing suggests that their advantage in qualifying (particularly in Q3) comes from their ability to preserve engine rotations/minutes to optimize performance in Q3. Have you heard about this and is it true?

Remi Taffin: I think everyone is scrutinizing Red Bull and saying things like that, but we can certainly say that no one is holding anything back in qualifying. Just to tell you, it’s useless to do so. You have to get used to what you’re running. Saving 500 or 1000 rpm is absolutely a pure waste of time. So no, they just have a very good car.

Question: Can you supply other teams by securing new customer engine contracts for next year? Do you have the capacity to supply any other entity, perhaps Williams?

Remi Taffin: We do not know which teams we will supply next year. We certainly have the capacity to supply more than two teams as is the case this year; it is not a big problem for us. Obviously, we will have to produce a few more engines and we will need more staff to handle this additional workload. Since we succeed in developing an engine for two teams, it won’t be a big problem to do it for three or four teams with some extra effort.

Question: What is your approach with young drivers such as Vitaly Petrov, and what kind of advice do you give to reserve drivers, like with Jan Charouz when discussing his possibilities of reaching Formula 1?

Remi Taffin: It’s very difficult, there is no key. The only answer you can give is to do your best. It is always difficult to be in F1. You have to drive fast, and you also have to put everything together to get the best out of the car to achieve a good result. So it’s not as simple as that.

With all these development programs, everything must be put together to make the most of it, and talking with engineers or drivers who are already in Formula 1 is particularly useful. You will always get something from them, and no one should hesitate to ask them questions.

We can see that for Petrov, we spent a lot of time talking to him and explaining everything, but it is evident that it is very difficult to put everything in order in your mind within a month. Our initial work is to ensure that the driver understands everything and gets every piece of the car. Now, after five races, Vitaly has everything, and he is the one explaining to us what is right or wrong about the car and in which direction we should go.

Question: Did you act differently with Vitaly than you did with Romain Grosjean in 2009?

Remi Taffin: The only thing I would say is that Romain arrived mid-season, without having done any tests, none. He had to get into the car and do well without any tests and not many races. I’m afraid to say that it was very difficult. If you have a chance to go to Formula 1 for the first time with a very good car, maybe you are lucky, but for him, it was different, and he had difficult circumstances to get used to the car and the driving.