Renault denies Illien tie-up forced by Red Bull

Renault has denied claims that it was forced by Red Bull to bring on engine guru Mario Illien as a consultant to help with its power unit developments.

Earlier this year, following a request by Red Bull, the Swiss engineer supplied Renault with a few ideas linked to a new cylinder project, but the French manufacturer did not implement any of Illien's work into its 2015 engine.

However, according to Renault F1's managing director Cyril Abiteboul, Renault will pursue a working relationship with Ilmor next season, on its own terms and without Red Bull's solicitation.

"It's very simple. It is an association between Renault and Ilmor, and there is no implication," commented Abiteboul.

"I have to respond to some media who said that it was something imposed by Red Bull, or was something only for the benefit of Red Bull. It is not at all the case.

"I have always said that yes, there was nothing from Ilmor that we used at the start or at the end of the 2015 season, but it did not mean that we were not impressed by the capacity of Ilmor to bring some positive stuff to the table.

“That is the basis on which our head of engineering decided to continue the relationship with Ilmor, but slightly in a different manner.

"What he is doing is extending our engineering capacity and also making an extra dyno available, so we can scale up our development capacity and catch up quicker."

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