Chester: Switch to Renault power unit ‘a real challenge’

Renault’s chassis technical director Nick Chester says the switch back to Renault from Mercedes power in 2016 has “been a real challenge”.

Lotus was powered by Renault in 2014 before switching to Mercedes last season where it delivered a step forward in performance but suffered from a lack of chassis development. With funding having been tight before the Renault takeover - which was confirmed in December - Chester admits it has been a big job for the team to change the car’s design for the new power unit.

“Well the RS16 is an evolution of our previous cars - particularly our 2015 car - but incorporating the Renault power unit,” Chester said. “So quite a change of architecture right at the last minute!

“It’s been a real challenge to incorporate the Renault Sport power unit. We made the decision very late to put the Renault Sport power unit in and the amount of work you have to do to re-sculpt the chassis, change your cooling geometry, all within a matter of a few months has been a really big effort for Enstone. Now we’re all the way through the crash testing it has been a really good effort.”

And Chester says the power unit change has been the main focus for the team over the winter while it has also worked on the RS16’s aerodynamics, the latter of which is an area Bob Bell wants Renault to invest.

“In the development of this chassis some of the main areas have really been aerodynamic characteristics. We’ve learned quite a lot in the last two years about what characteristics that we like so we’ve been trying to extend those. Then the other area has really been developing the package around the Renault power unit, so how we get the best out of the cooling and how we get the best out of the chassis and gearbox around it.”

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