Renault Purchase

When Renault bought Lotus... what happened to the Merc engines? Are they leased by the customer teams or bought outright? Did they have to return them to Merc prior to Renault taking them over? Did they get a look?

 

They have to be returned after use. Customer teams only get to see is the outside of the engine, so other than packaging they won't learn anything about the hardware. These days a bulk of performance comes from software which they also won't have access to. Ultimately a customer team will know how a PU delivers power, but they don't have any idea how to recreate it themselves! Having a 2014 Merc didn't help McLaren-Honda any.

 

Interesting... I thought Williams for instance was working on the software. I remember that being talked about last year. How can they do that if they don't have access to that degree? So if something isn't working on the PU... who's fixing it? Are you saying the Williams, Manor, and others aren't allowed to crack the engine? I'm not 100% sure that's accurate.

 

I think even Mercedes doesn't crack the engines. They are sealed by the FIA. I guess if a team returns and engine to Mercedes with a broken seal they have some explanations to deliver.

Maybe Williams was programming on their hybrid side and interaction of both? Or is the entire PU incl battery package coming from the manufacturer?

 

I'm sure the code running the engine is fair game, I thought McClaren at one time was producing the engine management software/hardware for all cars, but maybe that's changed now and it's more adjustable, I think they did that to crack down on software induced traction control and other stuff like that. You may recall a few years back when there was a large debate over Keeping the engine revving through corners to keep the exhaust driven downforce on. So there must be some degree of adjustability around EMS

 

Not cracking the engines: today's racing world. Remember reading in the 60s, Jack Brabham getting message from Repco factory." not enough piston to valve clearance". So he bought a wood chisel and cracked the head off and fixed the problem, and went out and raced the engine. That was before big money got involved with F1. Before 1968 you could not put a decal on the race car that didn't have the product in the vehicle.