Exclusive pictures of the Renault power unit

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A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

At the bottom of the airbox, two high-pressure hydraulic pipes might activate the throttle valves, while we can also spot the mounting points that comply with FIA regulations.

The energy recovery systems (ERS) are made of five different components: the MGU-H, the MGU-K, the battery, a pair of control electronics boxes, and two cables.

The energy store, or battery, works on direct current, while both motor generator units (MGUs) are operating on three-phase alternating current. Therefore, there must be an electrical conversion between the two systems, and this is where the ERS control electronics (CE) come into play. There are actually two CE units – one for the MGU-K, another for the MGU-H – and both work the same way.

When one of the MGUs recovers energy, it sends AC power to the appropriate control electronics system via three high-current cables. These could well be the orange cables one can see on the image above.