Renault Sport F1 director of operations Remi Taffin says the power unit matched post-summer break expectations at Spa, despite both Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo retiring because of engine-related issues.
In an effort to further close the gap to the front after a strong double podium finish at Budapest, the French constructor had not closed its Viry factory between the Hungarian and Belgian grands prix.
Supplied teams Red Bull and Toro Rosso immediately looked on pace at power-hungry Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, though only Ricciardo and Sainz made it into the final phase of qualifying.
The Australian had a great start and remained in podium contention until his RB11 grounded to a halt at exit of the Bus Stop chicane. By then, the Spaniard was already two laps down, having stopped at the end of the formation lap to fix a loss of power on his STR10.
Despite these setbacks, Renault was pleased to watch respective team-mates Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen storm through the field to finish P4 and P8.
“The power unit has on the whole performed well, matching the expectations we set down after the summer,” said Taffin.
“The drivers were able to apply power efficiently and show better speed on the straights, which allowed them to fight on track. We saw this very well, with both Daniil and Max able to overtake several cars and score points.”
Renault Sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul was especially happy to see Kvyat and Verstappen make fine overtaking moves on cars fitted with engines that are reportedly more powerful.
“We saw Renault-powered cars taking both Ferrari and Mercedes-powered ones down the straights and fighting for position through the corners,” he said.
“We also scored two points finishes at the most power sensitive track of the season.
“While there is room for improvement on reliability, on the performance front we are back in the fight for podiums and points with both teams.”
Click here for F1i's driver ratings after the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
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