2018 Renault F1 Car Runs at 950 Horsepower

Following the R.S.18 launch, the Renault team made a few fairly bold claims about their power unit. They say that the 2018 Renault F1 car is operating at more than 950HP. The French manufacturer included the figure as part of their 2018 spec details. However, the team admitted that reliability must be a major focus. This is because they supply two high-profile customers namely, Red Bull and McLaren. As a result, they will be working under tighter restrictions since they have just three penalty-free engines to work with. This year, the 2018 Renault F1 car will be piloted by Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr. 

Chief Technical Officer Bob Bell said, “We need a strong reliability record. That’s something we need to focus on, and we have worked hard on it over the winter. We need the car as reliable as we can make it. That’s a huge challenge, even more so than performance development, and it’s the toughest task we face. To improve reliability, we have to accept nothing less than perfection. Anything that ends up on the car needs to be designed and built to the highest standard; checked and rechecked as fit for purpose.

He continued, “All the issues which blighted us last year need to be eradicated by a fresh approach. It’s not something however that you can flick on like a switch, you need well established processes in place.”

However, not everybody in the Renault camp is as confident about the RS18’s capabilities. Driver Nico Hulkenberg believes that Renault would need at least “two-three years” to be in a position to challenge Mercedes and Red Bull. The team are still rebuilding themselves over the past two years and managing director Cyril Abiteboul believes it will continue this year as well. However, he hopes that 2019 will see the pendulum swing sharply in Renault’s direction.

Hulkenberg said, “It is a very time-consuming thing to get a team to the level that Red Bull and Mercedes are. The investment they make now in building and modernising the factory, the benefit we will get only in two-three years’ time – not until everything is up and running and we understand it. There is always such a long lead-up time. They have all been through the same. Look at Mercedes, how many years they were OK but not where they are now. Red Bull, the same.”